Fly tip register needs farmer support to gain national attention

More than 94 per cent of private landowners have been victim to fly-tipping according to a new survey. However these statistics do not form part of the national picture as government only records rubbish dumped illegally on public land.

To clamp down on this very real issue the NFU has joined forces with industry partners to get fly-tipping on private land recorded. The NFU campaign is currently being trialed in the West Midlands with farmers in the region urged to report incidents of illegally dumped rubbish to the NFU. Project partner the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) is also piloting similar initiatives in the North West. Depending on the success of the trials it is hoped to roll out the project across the country.

Partner organisation the Environment Agency has released key findings from a report which show:

• 94 per cent of private landowners suffer from illegal dumping of waste.

• Half of local landowners surveyed say that illegally dumped waste has become a significant concern – with some experiencing more than one hundred separate incidents in a year

• Research revealed clearance costs for landowners who had been fly-tipped averaged £809 per removal

• Half of material illegally dumped on private land is household waste, followed by construction waste and used car tyres. Harmful materials such as asbestos, chemical drugs and clinical waste present a particular problem

NFU Director of Policy Martin Haworth said: "Government statistics currently ignore the problem of fly-tipping on private land so although our members keep telling us it is a serious issue for them, and these research findings gives some estimation of the extent of the problem, the true extent of the picture is still not clear.

"We need to point out the true scale of the problem with hard facts and we really need farmers to help us collect this data. I would urge farmers who have rubbish illegally dumped on their land to report any incidents to our hotline. We can then use this information to work with government for a way forward on this national issue."

Farmers in the West Midlands should call 0870 840 0686 to record any incidents.