Local solutions needed to tackle fly-tipping
18/03/05

Peter Kendall, NFU Deputy President, addressed the problematic issue of fly-tipping yesterday with a group of MPs, including the Rt Hon Alun Michael MP, Minister of State for Rural Affairs and Local Environmental Quality and Elliot Morley MP, Minister for Environment & Agri-Environment. The NFU was invited to give its insight on the subject, along with Defra, at an All Party Parliamentary Group debate at the House of Commons.

Defra updated on recent developments in Government policy to tackle fly-tipping, including the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill. The bill proposes a number of new measures to combat the problem. Defra will also report on 'Flycapture', the database which records details of fly-tipping incidents dealt with by local authorities and the Environment Agency.

The NFU Deputy President gave details of his personal experiences of fly-tipping on his Bedfordshire farm and also highlighted to MPs that the scale of the problem and the costs to agriculture are still largely unknown.

Peter Kendall, NFU Deputy President said, "To effectively combat the problem of fly-tipping we must first establish the scale of the problem by collating data on the extent of fly-tipping on agricultural land, building on the work being undertaken by the Government."

"We must then develop local solutions to tackle the issue by involving local authorities, the Environment Agency, local business and industry and farmers. By working together on a local level we can find effective solutions to the problem."