From Keighley News, November 29th, 2018
Written by Miran Rahman
KEIGHLEY councillors said fly-tippers have “no excuse”, after new figures showed reports of this crime in Keighley and Bradford had risen dramatically. Government data shows in the 12 months to the end of March there were 14,317 reports of fly-tipping incidents across Keighley and Bradford – a jump of 17.4 per cent on the previous year. This places Bradford district second only to Leeds in the region for the number of incidents reported - and above large cities such as Sheffield.
Pictures taken by the Keighley News last Friday (Nov 23) show the extent of the problem at hotspots in and around central Keighley.
And two loads of tyres were dumped at a Haworth beauty spot twice in a week, prompting calls for covert cameras to be installed.
Cllr Cath Bacon, of Keighley West Ward, said householders passing rubbish to cheap waste removals firms must ensure these firms have permits to legally dispose of that waste.
“Of course we’d rather not see fly-tipping at all,” she said. “But if the number of calls is going up that’s good because it means people know where to report it to.
“I hate it when people can’t be bothered to dispose of rubbish properly.
“When I’ve seen fly-tipped items with addresses on, you can see they’ve driven straight past a household waste sites to get to where they’ve dumped it. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
Keighley MP John Grogan said: "Fly-tipping is a significant blight on our environment, a source of pollution, a potential danger to public health and hazard to wildlife.
"It undermines legitimate waste businesses where unscrupulous operators undercut those operating within the law.
"Two thirds of fly-tipping comes from household waste and I support Government proposals to make it an offence – punishable by a fixed penalty notice – for householders passing waste to a fly-tipper.
"Part of the problem is that regulations need enforcing, and after years of cuts there's not enough staff in Bradford responsible for pursuing the fly-tippers."
Cllr Adrian Farley, of Keighley West, said fly-tipping is often down to laziness, or a failure to factor in the cost of disposing of larger items.
He said people spending £300 or £400 on a new sofa should be able to afford the nominal council fee to legally dispose of their old sofa.
“I know of three Bracken Bank residents who clubbed together to have bulky furniture removed – paying £5 each,” he added. “Fly-tipping is a criminal offence and there’s no excuse.”