Litter in the countryside

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• Form a village/rural clean-up team Support and advice is available from local authorities to get community schemes off the ground. The scheme highlighted near Darlington was backed by the local borough council, which provided litter pick-sticks, high-visibility clothing, black bags, gloves and eye protection goggles. Contact your local parish or district council for advice.
• National Fly-tipping Week National Fly-tipping Week is set to run from April 23 to 29. It will see a range of events co-ordinated by the CA. Politicians, CA activists and local people will be involved in the clear-up of fly-tipping sites. The CA is asking people to get involved with practical help, but also to share their experiences and concerns as part of a consultation period on the issue. The views will form part of a road map to eliminate fly-tipping this autumn. For more details, telephone the CA on 020?7840 9200 or visit www.countryside-alliance.org.uk.
• If you see someone dropping litter However infuriating it is to see someone littering, campaigners warn against putting your personal safety at risk. If you have information about a littering incident, you could report it to the police, the local authority or a litter warden, and they will decide whether a prosecution is possible.
• Flycapture, a national fly-tipping database, was set up by Defra, the Environment Agency and the Local Government Association in 2004. The database has produced a national picture of the true extent of fly-tipping to help focus resources, target hotspots and identify trends.
• Someone fly-tips in England and Wales every 30 seconds that equates to nearly 90,000 incidents a month
• The most common fly-tip is a black rubbish bag of household rubbish at the side of a main road
• Fly-tipping costs an astonishing £200 a minute to clear up
• Each day, there are 40 incidents involving multiple lorry-loads being illegally dumped
• Nearly 60,000 fridges, freezers, and washing machines are fly-tipped each year
• Between April 2005 and March 2006, nearly 1,500 prosecutions were made against fly-tippers.