Waste officers and organisations leading the crackdown on fly-tipping have revealed the top ten rubbish excuses provided by fly-tippers caught for this offence across Wales. Fly-tipping Action Wales has released a list of the most ridiculous reasons that have been provided by fly-tippers dealt with for this offence as a warning to others that ‘rubbish excuses’ just won’t wash.
WATCH a video of the top ten rubbish excuses from fly-tippers
They range from the classic “It just fell off the back of my truck” to the highly imaginative “I burnt the bags of waste to keep warm whilst fishing”.
The partnership of over 50 organisations including local authorities, Natural Resources Wales, Keep Wales Tidy and local emergency services, sees the number of fly-tipping incidents increase directly after the Christmas period.
They hope the catalogue of excuses will help to deter fly-tippers and shine the spotlight on their fight against the illegal dumping of rubbish. In no particular order, the top ten worst excuses offenders have given for fly-tipping in Wales are:
1. “I saw other fly-tipped waste and thought the area was a recycling centre.
2. “My truck was stuck in the mud, so I unloaded the rubbish to make it lighter.”
3. “The waste was stolen from my yard.” (Enclosed by an 8-foot-high wall)
4. “I’d forgotten to put the rubbish back into the van I’d taken it out of.”
5. “The waste fell off the back of my vehicle as I drove along.”
6. “I dropped my phone and there was so much rubbish in the car that I couldn’t find it – I cleared the rubbish out so I could find the phone.”
7. “My van was untidy and I needed to give my boss a lift so I cleared the rubbish out because I know he doesn’t like the van untidy.”
8. “I thought the green waste in the back of the van was on fire so I tipped it out, then I couldn’t put it back in the van as I had to collect my son from school.”9.
9. “It was my van, but I had lent it to this other man who is now not answering my calls.”
10. “I burnt the bags of waste to keep warm whilst fishing.”
Gary Evans, Programme Manager at Fly-tipping Action Wales, said: “The rubbish excuses we hear range from the banal to the utterly ridiculous, but ultimately there is just no excuse for fly-tipping. It is an environmental hazard, anti-social, an eyesore and totally unfair to expect the Welsh taxpayer to pay for the cost of clearing away dumped items. We have seen an increase in the number of successful prosecutions over the last year, which is great to see and proves that the rubbish excuses fly-tippers often give don’t fool anyone. The Welsh Government has also introduced new powers recently to enable local authorities to issue fixed penalty notices for small-scale incidents and this is a welcomed additional tool to deal with offenders.”
Most household items that are often fly-tipped can easily be re-used and restored by recycling charities. If you use an unauthorised person to take your waste you can be fined.
You can check waste carriers are registered on the Natural Resources Wales website. If you require further information and advice on how to get rid of unwanted waste please click here.
Follow Fly-tipping Action Wales on Twitter
Click @FtAW
Tips to get rid of unwanted items
- Contact your local reuse or recycling charity to see if they’ll come and collect unwanted items to either restore and sell them or dispose of them responsibly.
- Use sites such as Freecycle, a local online community where people come and collect your unwanted goods from your house for free – www.freecycle.org
- Look at selling your unwanted items on websites such as Gumtree – www.gumtree.com
- Visit the Recycling for Wales website to find your local recycling centre – www.recycleforwales.org.uk
- Take your unwanted clothes, books, toys and bric-a-brac to your local charity shop where they’ll sell them to raise money for their cause. Visit www.charityretail.org.uk to find your nearest charity shop.
- You can also contact your local authority to see if they offer a bulky item collection service.