Record level of fly-tipping in Luton cost almost £20k to clean up

Fly-tipping in Luton hit record levels last year, new figures reveal.

The data reveals fly-tipping has cost almost £20k – money Luton Council says it would “far rather spend on the vulnerable and needy of our town”.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs figures show there were 6,256 fly-tipping incidents in the year to March 2022 – up from 4,602 the year before and the highest figure since records began in 2012-13.

A significant amount of fly-tipping in the area last year was discovered on council land (79%) and on highways (21%).

Of the discarded waste, the largest proportion was household waste (74%) followed by household black bin bags (11%).

The data also shows £19,900 was paid by councils on removing large incidents of fly-tipping in Luton.

The Defra figures show about 91,000 fixed penalty notices were issued across England in 2021-22, an increase of 58% from 2020-21.

And the number of court fines nearly tripled from just 621 in 2021-21 to 1,798 last year.

The value of all fines was £840,000 in 2021-22, more than doubling the £330,000 from the year before.

In Luton, 416 fixed penalty notices were issued last year, up from 413 in 2020-21.

A Luton Council spokesman said: “Fly tipping is an illegal activity that sadly, continues to blight Luton and many authorities throughout the country. We know the overwhelming majority of residents in the town, share our disgust at this antisocial behaviour. Our determination to catch, identify and hold those who fly tip to account remains as high as ever. Sadly, however we continue to have to invest money in enforcement which we would far rather spend on the vulnerable and needy of our town.

“In recent years we have invested in our neighbourhood enforcement team, an investigations hub and a crew which specifically scrutinises evidence. Since 2019 we have taken over 1200 enforcement actions on waste crime.

“We strongly believe that the responsibility lies with all of us to treat our town and its residents with respect. We therefore encourage all residents to report fly tipping so together we can deal with this disrespectful wrongdoing in our town. In addition it is important to remind everyone that waste carriers must be licensed and if material is identified as having been disposed of illegally, those hiring the trader will be held responsible for the crime.”

You can report fly-tipping online here.

Meanwhile, a campaign to help keep Luton clean is calling on more people to get involved. #KeepLutonTidy was launched by Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) in partnership with Love Luton – and collected the equivalent of 10,000 bags of waste last year.

ABCD co-founder Kevin Poulton said: “We often hear "we pay our council tax for that" which is why one of our key aims is to transform the relationship with public services from one expecting to be provided for, to one working in partnership with. We couldn't do it without the support of Luton Council, they are aware of where the groups are operating and pick up whatever is collected.

The Great British Spring Clean is set to take place from March 17 to April 2. If you would like to get involved, contact Kevin at [email protected] or visit the website.