Green call for higher tip fines
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by Guy Sheppard • The new landfill tax announced in the Budget will lead to widespread flytipping unless fines for committing the offence are increased sharply, conservationists believe.
From October 1996 most types of waste will be taxed at £7 a tonne as part of the Government's drive to reduce rubbish and encourage recycling.
Environment Secretary John Gummer has promised high priority will be given to preventing flytipping when the tax is introduced and "the financial gains made by the perpetrators will be drawn to the attention of the courts".
But Andy Smith, spokesman for the Surrey branch of the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) claims existing fines are too insignificant to deter potential offenders and will be even less so when the tax is introduced.
He points to a case last month when haulier and skip hire business A&K Elms was fined £3,000 with £800 costs for illegal tipping near Leatherhead.
"That's not enough to deter a lot of people," says Smith. "Even in a built-up area like Surrey there are lots of secluded spots where fly-tipping can go undetected for months."
Simon Hoare, spokesman for the Environmental Services Association, which represents 170 waste disposal companies, says that his members are concerned about the implications of the landfill tax on fly-tipping.