Councils fork out £20m to clean up fly-tipping

Figures out today show the cost of dealing with dumped rubbish has gone up by more than £3million, while the number of prosecutions has fallen.

The total cost for the capital in 2006-07 was £19,785,484, with 588,432 incidents dealt with by local authorities.

Wandsworth had the largest bill of nearly £3.8 million, followed by Kensington and Chelsea which had to spend £2.5 million clearing up fly-tipping. Haringey's bill was almost £2million while Lewisham, Newham and Brent had to fork out more than £1million each.

However, the number of prosecutions fell from 308 to 293, sparking calls for tougher action by town halls and magistrates courts.

Waste minister Joan Ruddock said: "Despite some good progress in enforcement and reporting, there is far too much fly-tipping blighting our streets and countryside. It's not acceptable and more needs to be done to tackle it. Several London councils are driving down fly-tipping through targeted, concerted action. I want more councils to follow their lead."

The Tories blamed the problem on the Government for encouraging the axing of weekly rubbish collections and the use of smaller wheelie bins.

Shadow communities secretary Eric Pickles said: "Fly-tipping has become rife and is creating a blot on our landscape. This is an environmental disaster of the Government's making, putting public health at risk." Lib-Dem environment spokesman Chris Huhne said: "A lot more must be done to tackle f ly-tipping. The people responsible should be tracked down and prosecuted wherever possible."

Daniel Moylan, chairman of London Councils' environment committee, said: "Council resources are strictly limited. As we have a duty to deliver a clean environment for our residents, councils often have to focus their resources more on clearing up fly-tipping rather than prosecuting offenders.

"If the Government wants local authorities to properly address the problem, it should provide more financial support - and ensure that magistrates are directed to give robust punishments to those that repeatedly blight our community."

BREAKDOWN OF FLY-TIPPING INCIDENTS, COSTS AND PROSECUTIONS BY BOROUGH