§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of the landfill tax on fly tipping; and if she will make a statement. [39271]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 28 February 2002]: The Department does not collate statistics on fly tipping. Reports by the Tidy Britain Group on this issue showed that the type of waste most frequently fly-tipped is household waste. It is unlikely that the landfill tax causes householders to fly tip waste because local authorities have a legal obligation to collect or accept this type of waste and, as a result, householders do not directly meet the cost of the tax.
Under Section 59 of the Environment Protection Act 1990, local authorities (or the Environment Agency) have the power to remove any fly-tipped waste and recover costs incurred from any person who made or knowingly caused or permitted the deposit of the waste.
The local authority or the Environment Agency also has the power to prosecute the perpetrators of fly tipping which can lead to an unlimited fine and/or imprisonment for up to two years (five years for special wastes).