Report of the Director of Environment

The Director of Environment submitted a report providing an update on the current situation regarding fly tipping.  It was noted that the Committee had previously undertaken a policy review on fly tipping during 2017 and had received various updates following completion of the review.  The Director of Environment informed the Committee that local actions being taken by the Waste and Street Scene included the use of overt CCTV equipment and not covert CCTV equipment as detailed within the report.

The Committee asked a number of questions which were responded to at the meeting.  These included the effectiveness of fixed penalty notices as a deterrent; the number of fly tips that included household waste; the use of overt CCTV cameras and the use of stencils.

The Committee suggested that the operational hours of the civic amenity sites could potentially have an impact on the number of instances of fly tipping and it was suggested that if the civic amenity sites were to remain open rather than close on specific days this may help reduce fly tipping within the District.  The Committee recognised that this was a matter for North Yorkshire County Council and outside of the Committee’s remit but requested that these comments be fed back to the appropriate body accordingly.  The Committee was informed that DEFRA were currently reviewing various options with regard to civic amenity sites at a national level.

The Waste and Street Scene Manager reported that he had attended an online conference which discussed the national issue of tackling waste crime with the aim of sharing best practice and looking for further actions and potential solutions.  It was anticipated that there would be a report published arising from this conference and the Committee requested that a copy of the report be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee when it became available.

The decision:

That:-

(1)    the report be noted; and

(2)    should a report be published following the online conference which discussed the national issue of tackling waste crime, this be submitted to the Committee for consideration at the appropriate time.