Whilst welcoming the Welsh governments draft strategy for dealing with fly tipped waste, the Farmers’ Union of Wales remains concerned that fly-tipping continues to be a significant problem to private landowners, particularly in rural areas abutting the urban fringe.
“Fly-tipping has health, visual and financial implications for land owners and the wider local economy. We need a well-resourced strategy, that incorporates industry bodies and government to tackle the problem,” said FUW land use and parliamentary committee chairman Gavin Williams.
“Recent moves by local authorities to either close local Civic Amenity Sites or introduce charges for domestic waste, will inevitably impact on the prevalence of fly-tipping in the future and could undermine any strategic actions Welsh government seeks to put in place.
“The Welsh government draft strategy contains few actions which address the costs and bureaucracy laid on private landowners when dealing with the removal and disposal of fly-tipped material and until there is a concerted effort to facilitate the disposal of this waste the industry will see no positive advantages in reporting fly-tipped waste,” added Mr Williams.
In its response to the recent Welsh government consultation, the FUW’s land use and parliamentary committee chairman said that the union broadly supports the vision set out in the paper and believes that there has been considerable progress in understanding the issues since the last consultation and some welcome progress in co-working amongst public and private sectors.
“It is important however to ensure that the momentum that has been created over recent years is maintained so that cost saving exercises by the public sector does not end up stalling the work undertaken to date,” added Mr Williams.
The FUW also believes that more could be done to raise awareness and educate the wider public on their responsibilities to ensure that their waste is disposed of legally. This provision of advice and information needs to encompass both the legal aspects of waste disposal but also the provision of advice and guidance on the local facilities available for the various waste streams.