EHJ June 2005, page 7

Nargis Kayani

Defra figures estimate that the illegal dumping of rubbish costs local authorities approximately £100 a minute to clear, with 250,000 black bags of rubbish dumped every year costing £40 per bag to clear. Overall, fly-tipping is estimated to cost the Environment Agency, local authorities and landowners £100-£150m a year. Defra figures also estimate that in England, rubbish is illegally dumped every 35 seconds.

The message from the EA and local authorities is unambiguous: fly-tipping is a crime. The Defra fly-tipping database set up in 2004 enables the identification of hot spots, where rubbish is regularly dumped. Defra has also funded the EA to develop a programme of work to improve local authority skills, with the "Flycapture enforcement" project aiming to improve numbers of successful prosecutions against fly-tippers.

Many local authorities have adopted a zero tolerance approach to the problem by using sophisticated, remote, hidden cameras to catch offenders. At Maidstone DC the environmental health, pollution reactive team is at the forefront of the authority's initiative to stop the anti social and environ-mentally damaging crime of fly tipping. Driven to improve public spaces and the quality of resident's lives, the dedicated team personify the complex and varied role of the modern day EHP.

Maidstone's reactive team of seven officers have identified over 50 sites within the borough that are illegally fly-tipped twice a year. Ten other tipping hotspots are routinely monitored with surveillance cameras. Members of the public can use a dedicated hotline to pass on vital information on the identity of offenders or report instances of fly-tipping, which the authority usually clears within 24 hours. This year, the team has already prosecuted one offender for depositing controlled waste resulting in a £1,000 fine. Another ongoing high profile case involves the illegal dumping of hazardous asbestos waste. Detailed investigations by the team have already confirmed at least three incidents of illegal tipping from the same source. Multi agency investigation involving the council, the HSE, police and EA are ongoing.

In dealing with these complex and sensitive cases, the team ensure they exercise the utmost caution and diligence when investigating fly-tipping sites, making sure that the integrity of the crime scene is not compromised until such time as they are able to take samples and gather the evidence needed to prosecute those responsible. Such considerations can involve a delicate balancing act, especially when dealing with almost six tonnes of asbestos material illegally dumped in woodlands over a bank holiday weekend.

Covert camera surveillance, favoured by Maidstone, involves seeking authorisation under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) for each camera operation. Appeals for information from the team via the media regularly result in anonymous tip offs. This coupled with examining hours of camera footage, collating lists of vehicle registration numbers of persistent tippers and liaising with the police, means that the role of the team is never dull and often is more reminiscent of a highly charged television drama than a semi rural local authority environmental health dept. The message in Maidstone is clear; tip at your peril as the professionals are watching.