Fly tipping especially asbestos waste – what effects does it have on the environment?
Fly tipping is the dumping of waste on land without the consent of the landowner and is illegal. It is seen more often in country areas, where there are lots of fields and woodland to dispose unwanted waste, but there is also a genuine problem with fly tippers in the our cities. This kind of unlawful activity can have a negative effect on the environment, no matter if it happens on the streets of London or a country track in Yorkshire.
Dumping unwanted items where they don’t belong will often result in having an adverse impact on the natural, economic and social environment. Possible chemicals in this type of waste can pollute the soil and if the land is possessed by somebody whose livelihood rests completely on soil conditions, then fly tipping can have a disastrous effect. The animals that use the soil can also fall ill with a range of health problems, as a direct result of fly tipping. In this way, the illegal throwing away of waste on public land has a huge and real impact on local wildlife populations.
Why is fly-tipping problematic?
• The clean-up of fly-tipping costs every tax payer money
• It is unsafe and possibly damaging to you and your loved one’s health
• It ruins peoples pleasure of the environment
• It causes pollution to the environment
• Fly-tipping ‘hot-spots’ can be prone to arson and promote more fly-tipping
• It can often be harmful to wildlife
How much does fly-tipping cost us?
The Environment Agency believes that occurrences of fly-tipping every year cost us in the region of £100 and £150 million to clean-up.
There is also another hefty price to pay – and it isn’t to do with money. The transmission of diseases is a genuine issue when it comes to fly tipping. If the dumped waste holds anything that a rodent would eat, fly tipping can cause real complications with pest control and possible infestations of mice or rats. These animals are well-known for the dispersal of diseases and they’re usually an enormous nuisance, particularly for those who live in close, built-up areas, like the bulk of UK cities.
Environmental Impacts
When individuals are looking for somewhere to fly tip, the foremost conditions are that it needs to be a discreet, isolated site where they won’t get caught. What they don’t contemplate is that the home for their waste has very real consequences on the immediate environment. For instance, if rubbish is tipped into a canal or river, it can create obstructions that are possibly harmful to anyone who visits the area. The view of a rejected shopping trolley in an urban river is often so ubiquitous nowadays that we hardly notice it, but the dumping of a foreign object into this setting will almost certainly have an enormously damaging impact on birds, ducks and other wildlife.
Many individuals also dump hazardous objects when they fly tip – only because they cannot find a different way to dispose of an unsafe substance. It may be true that landfills are not the ideal solution to where our waste should end up – but finding it callously left on our streets and countryside is definitely a far worse answer! This is then left to a qualified fly tipping and in particular asbestos removal service to get rid of all the waste safely and securely, whilst also taking the first steps to restoring the environment to its former glory.
How to report fly-tipping
There are a variety of ways to report asbestos fly-tipping, and depends on how much waste is present. For large quantities – for example, if you think it has been dumped by a lorry – then phone the Environment Agency’s 24-hour hotline, 0800 807060, if you are in England or Wales. For smaller quantities you will have to phone your local council. Have all the information on the whereabouts of the fly tipping, what the rubbish roughly consists of, where it may have originated and if it’s a common incidence. On the other hand, you can alert the police, particularly if you are worried that a vehicle is being used to offload rubbish.
Fly Tipping and Asbestos Waste
Asbestos can be dangerous, especially dumped in an open environment where children and animals can become in close contact. Here at Crucial Environment we have the experience and knowledge to collect and dispose of asbestos waste safely and professionally.
If we can be of help for you – please call 01903 297818.