Why Is London Overrun with Fly-Tippers?
Any Google search for the terms ‘rubbish’ and ‘London’ will return dozens of news stories about fly tipping. Last September it was revealed that six out of ten of the areas that suffer the most from fly tipping are in London. There are several reasons why London struggles with this urban blight…
London Tips
London Boroughs do have their own waste refuge sites but this does not mean they are easy to use. Boroughs work in partnership to run the tips. The North London Waste Authority is run by seven boroughs – Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest. It has a very nice website but there is no information about where its refuse sites are actually located. Finding a site is not the only problem residents will encounter.
Not all dumps accept the same types of rubbish. Which means residents need to check what they have and figure out which site each bit needs to go to. In most areas of London, identification is needed to use a rubbish tip as they are closed to non-residents. These sites are also subject to vehicle restrictions on both height and weight. Some sites also charge for entry. With all these barriers to using a licenced tip, it is no wonder that many residents dump rubbish on the street.
Transport
London is a city of eight million people but it is not city that uses cars. In 2011 70% of homes in London did not own a car. In the rest of the country, only 25% of homes do not own a car. This limited access to individual transport makes it difficult to get large amounts of waste to the tip. It also means that many Londoners do not know anyone who owns a car, therefore they cannot even borrow a vehicle to make the journey.
Rogue Traders
Because of these barriers to legal rubbish disposal, we have seen a rise in unlicensed contractors springing up and taking rubbish. Any Londoner will have seen adds for rubbish clearance but some of these companies do not dispose of waste in a safe way. A lot of them contribute to the fly tipping problem and merely dump what customers have given them on quiet roads and disused industrial areas. Residents need to be stringent about checking company licences and asking where their unwanted goods will end up.
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