News release 26 June, 2008

Officers in the Environmental Health Department at South Derbyshire District Council have started regular stop and search exercises to catch potential fly tippers and those ignoring laws on carrying waste.

Says Cllr John Bladen, Chairman of South Derbyshire’s Environmental and Development Services Committee, “Fly tipping is a major problem across the country and some people think they can use our secluded country lanes in South Derbyshire to get rid of waste without paying.

"There are many businesses out there who do dispose of their waste responsibly with the correct licences. But some are either unaware of the law or don’t want to pay for waste disposal costs. It is these people that we have been trying to catch."

Recently Environmental Health officers spent an afternoon with the police at a location near Etwall. Over 20 vehicles were stopped and, although none was committing an offence, officers made sure that they knew their legal duties about waste.

Says Cllr Bladen, "The law is straight-forward. If you are carrying any waste other than your own household waste then the Environment Agency requires that you have a licence to carry it and also waste transfer documents to cover the waste being carried.

"The net is closing in on fly tippers. This was our first stop and search operation. The first of however many it takes to make sure that South Derbyshire remains a green and pleasant land. We will now be carrying them out regularly and prosecuting anyone found to be flouting the law. The exercise was undertaken with the help of the Police and future exercises may involve the use of the Police’s automatic number plate recognition system to locate potential offenders."