fly tipping

WQ.23/2019

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

BY DEPUTY K.G. PAMPLIN OF ST. SAVIOUR

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 15th JANUARY 2019

Question

Can the Minister provide a breakdown of the number of incidents of fly tipping reported to the department during 2018, including the location of the items, the types of items and the cost of disposing of them?

Answer

In 2018, the Environmental Protection team, within Growth, Housing and Environment (GHE) received a total of 172 reports of fly tipping on the Island. These figures only represent reports made directly to Environmental Protection.

The total figure excludes the fly tipped waste collected by the Parish of St Helier from within the Parish and that collected by GHE Cleaning Services at all the island's recycling and bring bank sites. These additional figures are currently being compiled and will reported at the end of Q1 2019.

Summary of fly tipping reports:

Figures below are for the total of 159 incidents reported to Environmental Protection in Q1-Q3 (detailed information on the location and type of fly tipping incident for Q4 2018 are currently being processed)

1. Overview of types of fly-tipped waste
   1. The majority of reports (50 reports or 31% of the total Q1-Q3 reports) were of household bulky items being fly-tipped (e.g. furniture, mattresses etc)
   2. 28 reports (18% of the total) were classified as other unidentified' (e.g. push bikes).
   3. 18 reports (11% of the total) were vehicles parts
   4. The remaining reports were a mixture of chemical/fuel/oil, commercial, construction/demolition waste, green waste, household black bags, and white goods.
2. Location by land ownership
   1. 99 reports were recorded on Parish land, 23 on States of Jersey land, 10 on private land, 9 on unclassified land, 7 on commercial/industrial land, 4 on agricultural land, 4 on roads, 2 reports on a footpath or bridleway and 1 report on a stream bank.
3. Location by Parish

• St Helier (35 reports or 22% of the total Q1 to Q3 reports)
  • Slightly less than one-third of these reports occurred around the ring road.
  • Three incidents were reported in the La Collette area.
  • The majority involved the fly tipping of bulky waste items such as mattresses or furniture.
• St Brelade (32 reports or 20% of the total)
  • A concentration of reports were around Noirmont and Pont Marquet
  • Included were five reports of fly tipped car parts.
• Trinity (16 reports or 10% of the total)
  • Concentrated along the lanes of the north coast
• St Martin (6 reports or 4% of the total)
  1. Four reports in the St Catherine area

2. St John (5 reports or 3% of the total)
   1. Located around the lanes along the north coast
3. Other Parishes
   1. Grouville , St Clement, St Lawrence, St Ouen, St. Peter and St. Saviour
      1. Between 7 and 15 reports per Parish
   2. St Mary (0 reports)

5. Estimated cost of clearing up, investigating and disposing of fly-tipped waste in 2018
   1. Environmental Protection officer time
      1. Officer costs for investigating fly tipping incidents £41k
   2. Other officer time
      1. An estimated total of £10-20k p.a. incurred by GHE Recycling Team for collecting fly tipped waste at the island's recycling and bring bank sites
         1. Cost to the Parish of St Helier (estimated manpower cost £30,000 pa)
   3. Other costs;
      1. GHE officers collect and dispose of fly tipped waste as part of their daily work around the island
      2. Private land owners and farmers incur costs to clear and dispose of fly tipping on their land
      3. Charities incur costs due to collection and disposal of fly tipped waste from charity bring bank sites
      4. Other parties such as the National Trust, Jersey Water incur clean-up/disposal costs

5.  Enforcement action taken

The anti-fly tipping  project is  a  partnership approach  between Environmental Protection, GHE Recycling Team, the Parishes and other affected stakeholders.

All parties examine fly tipped waste for evidence. Instances where some evidence might exist are investigated by Environmental Protection. In 2018 this was 71 of the fly tipping reports. Instances are then fully investigated, and where identified, suspects are interviewed. Officers are keen to secure court appearances where possible and case files are prepared and forwarded to the Law Officers Department where appropriate.

In 2018, three case files were submitted to the Law Officers Department. In one case the offender was fined £275 at the Parish Hall and in the other cases written cautions were issued. In 14 other cases offenders where dealt with in line with Environmental Protections enforcement policy, such as warning letters. A total of 23 cases are still active. In the remaining 31 cases, no suspect was identified. The difficulty with fly-tipping events is collecting the required evidence to secure a prosecution.