The Country Land and Business Association has launched a survey on flytipping in the countryside.

Forum Response: Country Land and Business Association

Mark Hudson CLA president said: "People are fed up of seeing rubbish dumped in ditches, fields, country lanes and even beauty spots. The countryside is particularly vulnerable, but there is very little information on the frequency and hotspots of flytipping in rural areas, which our survey will try to establish. 

"Owners and occupiers are frequently left to clean-up illegally dumped rubbish. The government should be investigating the scale of the problem and the costs to individuals and local authorities who have to clean-up after these rubbish rogues.

"Solutions to flytipping might include waiving small builders’ fees at local dumps. Builders' waste is one of the most commonly dumped materials. Local authorities should also be given greater powers to erect barriers on public rights of way, because flytippers often drive to remote locations to dump a carload of rubbish."

Forum Response: English Nature

A spokesperson from English Nature told ePolitix.com: "SSSIs, the finest sites for wildlife and natural features in England, can be prone to flytipping.  English Nature recognises that the majority of flytipping that effects SSSIs is carried out by people who do not own or manage  the land where it occurrs.  Flytipping can damage the special interest features of the SSSI and the environment in general.

"Although English Nature does have enforcement powers to tackle damage and disturbance to SSSIs, we realise that this type of environmental crime can be more effectively tackled by working with SSSI landowners, local communities and other agencies such as  local planning authorities, the Environment Agency and bodies such as the Country, Land and Business Association.  We fully support this type of positive approach and we welcome working together to offer advice on nature conservation, the enforcement action that can be taken and agree positive solutions to benefit nature conservation."