Posted: 12/14/2009 8:40:11 AM EDT
|
I know that this is going to get a ton of solutions involving 300 whisper, an industrial chipper and some pigs.. but just wondered if any of you had experience/ can think of a technical (legal!) solution to a fly tipping problem that someone I know has which is currently costing them dearly.
Background: Fly tipping of biblical proportions.. mainly builders materials, dumped on the side of the road next to, or into the drainage ditches which this person has liability for (they have to maintain the road as access). Currently having to have the ditches cleared every couple of weeks. Police uninterested/ unable to help.. Local council suggests 24hr manned gateway (annual cost at > £100K is probably a non starter). If they don't clear, they get prosecuted as some special water vole lives in the ditch (living on a diet of gripfill no doubt). The road runs over 600 - 800 meters, through the middle of a Wetland area (with 40' drainage streams either side of the road) up to an industrial estate with lots of traffic during the day, little at night. No housing or anything nearby, no lighting power etc, so its an obvious target. The site is also designated site of special scientific interest.. so unattractive high security fences & barbed wire etc is out.. something that was aesthetically pleasing (gabion cages for example) though might get passed OK. Cost would be an issue for 1200+M of this though maybe? Something that involved a large-ish one off cost wouldn't necessarily be out of the question, but like I say 100K a year for guarding is out. Just wondered whether anyone can think of anything? Anyone had similar problems and found a fencing/ barrier solution that might fit? |
|
Quoted:
Set up a game camera. They are available everywhere these days, and are triggered by movement. Set it to get the number plate. It will also record the time. This is probably not a bad idea. Puting up a camera to identify who is committing the offences is helpful in getting intelligence and information for the regulatory powers to then investigate as it will give due cause for an investigation into specific activities and can lead to other enforcement action for related offences, even if the flytipping offence cannot be proved, however, evidence must be gathered in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) and the Regulatory Investigations Powers Act (RIPA) once the formal investigation starts and can take some time so there may be no quick solution. For small scale flytipping you will need to report it to your local authority. For larger flytipping activities the Environment Agency should be contacted. Local authorities will also clean up public highways and public land however you are right in that they do not clean up flytipped material deposited on private land, and sadly that responsibility falls to the landowner. You will need to have an idea of the tonnages and frequency involved and a decision will be made as to who is best placed to undertake any suveillance and subsequent enforcement action. The more information you can give, the better The EA doesn't have a specific duty to investigate flytipping but does undertake investigations and enforcement action where it can target organised crime, large scale pollution and detriment to the environment where it is cost effective to do so. You can get a bit more info at the EA website EA |
|
If it is happening weekly - then why not get together with a few like minded people and form up a patrol.
When the offending fly-tipper arrives you can then record number plate/take pictures/phone police/follow home/use aforementioned wood chipper/call A-Team as required. The fly tippers simply seeing you; should be enough to make them use elsewhere |
|
For around £150 you can buy a car use gsm alarm, one that texts you if set off.
A couple of trigger switches and a car battery and your good to go. save all that waiting around 
Of course if you don't have a mobile signal there, you can always just replace the alarm unit with some HMTD 
|
|
Quoted:
If it is happening weekly - then why not get together with a few like minded people and form up a patrol. When the offending fly-tipper arrives you can then record number plate/take pictures/phone police/follow home/use aforementioned wood chipper/call A-Team as required. The fly tippers simply seeing you; should be enough to make them use elsewhere You may get rid of them for a short time, but once you lay of they will be back........ it costs a lot of money to dispose of waste legally and if they can find an isolated spot to dispose of the material they will keep using it.....however, if they can be identified and investigated the EA can target not only the carrier, but the producer of the waste as well......... everyone has a duty of care to ensure their waste is disposed of by legitimate means, even householders and anyone passing their waste on to someone who is not authorised to carry it can be found in breach of duty of care legislation. There are no guarantees, but if the offences areof the magnitude suggested then I would imagine the EA would be very interested, especially if it's a wetlands area. If found guilty of the offences of flytipping the EA can then potentially strip them of their assests, including vehicles and plant under the Proceeds of Crime Act........... it's a huge deterrent. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
If found guilty of the offences of flytipping the EA can then potentially strip them of their assests, including vehicles and plant under the Proceeds of Crime Act........... it's a huge deterrent. It still happens though........ Yep it does....... and it's a difficult one. Most flytipping happens on "waste ground" or on private land. If it's private land then it's viewed as the landowner's problem and the public rarely get involved. if it happen on the public highway or industrial areas owned and maintained by the local council then the council clean it up. It's possible that flytipping is not high on the list of issues for Joe Public because they are rarely the direct victims of it with a direct cost incurred (i.e. a bill for the clean up landing on the doormat). It's hard to tackle these kind of offences when so much of the population is disengaged. Also people very rarely report wtnessing flytipping so it's hard to link offences to indiciduals and build up the intelligence on prolific offenders and the people that use them. |