Fly-tipping increases since appointment-only system launched at tips in Milton Keynes

There were a huge 4304 fly-tipping incidents between April and December last year, with a monthly average of nearly 500 piles of rubbish a month being dumped.

This is an increase of 613 incidents -16 per cent - compared to the same time the previous year.

Now city Tories are calling on MK Council to reverse its decision to make the booking-only system at local household waste sites a permanent fixture.

The system was introduced for social distancing reasons during the first lockdown last year and has never been changed. Now there are plans in the Labour-led council budget to stick to it for the future, even when the Covid crisis is over, and also to charge residents for disposing of non-household and building waste.

Cllr Dan Gilbert, the Conservative’s Environment and Waste spokesperson, said: “These figures are shocking. Fly-tipping causes misery for all residents, they are a blight on our green spaces and it costs taxpayers a small fortune to clear up."

He added: “Labour-run MK Council needs to do more to tackle this problem. We have to be clear that this is not a victimless crime. Those who are doing this need to stop, but the council also needs to act to get a handle on this problem

before it gets even worse.

“Decisions such as permanently limiting access to the tips to online bookings only, even when Covid restrictions have been relaxed, will not help.”

Based on current projections, the number of fly-tipping incidents will surpass the council’s forecasts and potentially set new records for the levels of fly-tipping recorded in Milton Keynes, say the Tories.

"It is the latest in a line of problems with waste services, following the suspension of food and garden waste collections and delays to collections through January," said Cllr Gilbert.

MK Council pursues fly-tippers robustly and has prosecuted several offenders over the past year. Fly-tippers can be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice of £250 or prosecuted in court, where a fine of up to £50,000 or five years imprisonment could be handed out.

CCTV cameras have been installed in fly tipping hotspots to catch the culprits and dashcams are also being used to gather evidence.

You can report fly-tipping on the council website here