Charity foots £354,031 bill in worst littering report yet
The Woodland Trust’s annual rubbish clearance costs have increased by 264% since 2010.
The Woodland Trust has released figures that show how 2016 has been their worst year on record for fly tipping and littering, with a bill totalling over a quarter of a million pounds. Since January, the charity has spent £42,596 clearing fly tipping – £11,236 more than the whole of 2015. Since 2010 the total cost of litter clearance - including routine litter picking and fly tipping - has risen to £1,202,508.55.
This figure follows a worrying trend where fly tipping figures have slowly risen over the years, with expenditure for fly tipping increasing by 191% since 2010. There have been 196 individual tipping incidents recorded in England this year, and the Trust expects this to get worse if stronger deterrents are not put in place.
One of the more startling case studies of the year has been Windmill Hill near Runcorn which has had some 280 bags of rubbish collected from it since January. The range of items dumped includes large and bulky items such as mattresses, a fridge and garden fence panels. Nearly £6,000 a year is spent on this one woodland, with 50 sites in the Warrington and Runcorn costing the Trust about £70,000 over four years.
Tackling fly tippers is not always easy due to the sheer amount of land owned by the Trust, and the cost of CCTV. This year the Trust took just one fly tipper to court. The culprit was ordered to pay £200 compensation for dumping a coffee table, mattress, bed frame and children's playhouse at Littlewold Plantation in Yorkshire. However, this is the only known instance where a fly tipper could be tracked down in the 44 year history of the Trust.
Norman Starks, Woodland Trust UK Operations Director, said: “It’s worrying to see that in a world where our woods face constant threats from disease, pests and development that we also have to deal with the actions of mindless individuals. Each year we are spending thousands of pounds clearing up other people’s waste, which could otherwise go towards creating new woods or protecting ancient woodland.
“At the end of the day fly tipping is an illegal activity, and people need to understand and remember that it has numerous implications for our woods and wildlife. We all need to care for our natural environment, or risk ruining it forever.”
Woodland Trust Scotland have also highlighted that even ‘green fly tipping’ has become a real issue. Near Livingstone alone, five Woodland Trust sites have been plagued by a deluge of garden waste such as grass clippings, hedge trimmings, weeds and leaves. Although many would think this is harmless, the additional nutrients carried by these plants throws delicate UK flora into a state of unbalance as plants become smothered and non-native species (such as rhododendron) colonise the area.
The Trust owns and manages over 1,000 woods across the UK, covering over 22,500 hectares. Members of the public can become a guardian of the woods and safeguard local woods for future generations by visiting woodlandtrust.org.uk/guardianofthewoods.
Top fly tipping finds…
Children’s play house * Gazebo * Paddling Pool * Scooters * exercise bike * golf clubs *Snooker Table * Kitchen worktop * burnt out wheelie bin * bread crate
