Landowners have backed plans to seize the vehicles of people caught fly-tipping in the countryside.
The CLA which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses has responded to a government consultation on fly-tipping in support of apprehending vehicles involved in the crime and said it had called for culprits to be dealt with more robustly for years.
CLA President Henry Robinson said: “Fly-tipping is a serious issue for landowners and blights the countryside. Landowners are still liable for any waste that is fly-tipped on their land and can be prosecuted if they do not clear it away.
“It costs rural businesses up to £150million in clean up costs every year. If new powers can reduce it by as little as two percent, we are optimistic this could lead to at least £15million of savings every five years for private landowners.”
Mr Robinson said he supported more power for enforcement authorities to seize any vehicle involved in fly-tipping.
He said: “Fly-tipping is often conducted by organised criminal gangs and we have called for culprits to be dealt with more robustly for years. We see the power to remove vehicles as a positive step forward in reducing incidences of fly-tipping.
“These measures should come into force as soon as possible and must be backed up by the police and councils treating the catching of offenders as a local priority.”
