Fly-tipping to increase

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The menace of illegally fly tipped hazardous waste is set to rise steeply as a result of new EU rules which came into force in July. Under these rules the number of landfill sites which can take hazardous waste will be drastically cut from approximately 250 to as few as 11, and the cost of disposing of hazardous waste is set to soar.

Environment Agency (EA) Officers will be kept busy conducting checks at sites which could formerly take hazardous waste under 'co disposal' of hazardous and non-hazardous waste arrangements which became illegal on 16 July 2004. The Officers will conduct spot checks on waste consignments as they arrive to ensure that only permitted waste is accepted. Loads which are rejected will be subject to strict scrutiny and the carriers will need to prove that they have contingency plans to dispose of hazardous waste at authorised sites.

EA Officers will also target known fly tipping hotspots to deter the temptation of the carriers and producers of hazardous waste to carry out illegal dumping. The EA has developed a web based information resource called 'Fly-catcher' which is to be used by the different agencies trying to catch the criminals involved in this problem.

Tyre waste

Another change after 16 July 2004 means vehicle tyres must be shredded before they are accepted at landfill sites. Few tyre retailers are aware of this requirement and it is feared that the amount of illegally dumped tyres will increase significantly. There are a number of secluded areas and lanes on the outskirts of London which are already notorious illegal tyre dumping sites.

The government has been aware of the new requirements since they were agreed by the EU in 1999. Despite this there seems to have been no effective planning to meet the new requirements and the arrangements for the disposal of hazardous waste throughout the UK appear to be in a state of dire crisis.

The new landfill laws are designed to reduce pollution, raise environmental standards and improve waste recycling.

Hazardous waste

The classification of 'hazardous waste' is given to many discarded household items such as old paint tins, batteries, TV sets, mobile phones, computers and monitors, domestic pesticides and herbicides etc as well as the huge range of waste residues generated by industry. Approximately 5 million tons of hazardous waste, which will have included asbestos and other seriously toxic substances, was disposed of in land fill sites in England and Wales during 2000. Nearly half of this was generated by the demolition and construction industries. As asbestos is regarded as chemically inert, it can be still be co-disposed of in 'non hazardous' land fill sites, but only if it is separated from other wastes which are regarded as 'reactive' and environmentally dangerous.

The new rules now require soils removed from brown field sites, and certain products from agriculture, to be classified as hazardous waste. Previously the majority of this material could be disposed of in most landfill sites but now must go to hazardous waste sites. This is a new requirement, which at current rates, is set to add almost one million tons of extra hazardous waste to a problem which is expected to grow at a rate of 8% a year for the foreseeable future.

The increases in cost and the bureaucracy involved in the safe and responsible disposal of hazardous waste are likely to trigger a sharp rise in the incidence of fly tipping.

Court action

In recent months several high profile cases have been taken to court by the Environment Agency which demonstrated that acts of illegal dumping and fly tipping are carried out systematically by organised criminal gangs.

Under current Local Authority arrangements, small business undertakings such as plumbers, builders and kitchen fitters etc, whose work generates relatively small quantities of waste, are either completely barred from using civic amenity and domestic waste recycling centres, or they are charged heavily for the service. This has already led to an increase in minor incidents of fly tipping which are now likely to get out of hand. Most Local Authorities rely on the services of contractors to deal with minor fly tipping incidents. Under these arrangements contractors arrive at a reported fly tip, carry out a clean up and the material is then disposed of at the community's expense. Inadequate resources allow for very little investigative work to be carried out, in order to determine the origin of the fly tipped waste and to hold the perpetrators to account. Very few small scale fly tippers are ever caught.

In London in 2002/03, 4.4 million tonnes of municipal waste was produced, of which 3.4 million tonnes was from household sources. Greater London has a household recycling rate of 11%. Other figures include: Municipal Waste Recycled: 0.411 million tonnes (9%) Municipal Waste Incinerated: 0.873 million tonnes (20%) Municipal Waste sent to landfill: 3.163 million tonnes (71%).

Resources

• Capital Waste Facts is dedicated to providing information about waste and recycling in London. www.capitalwastefacts.com
• Asbestos fly-tipping in London (Daily Hazard No. 78) www.lhc.org.uk/members/pubs/newslet/78dha.htm

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