Fly-tipping or
illegal dumping is on the increase in many places. It is unsightly, a potential
health hazard, damaging to the environment and against the law.
Sadly our
countryside, back lanes, roadsides and other areas of public space are getting
filled with rubbish. Litter is bad enough, especially plastic items that can
end up in rivers and drains and make their way to the sea where they can kill
turtles, seabirds and whales, but all sorts of domestic and industrial garbage
and waste materials are getting dumped.
Plastic bags can easily get blown into
waterways or end up in the branches of trees or stuck in bushes and hedgerows.
It is mainly
domestic rubbish that gets so irresponsibly dumped like this but also materials
from industry and construction gets thrown away too. Besides looking like the
mess that it is, illegally dumped rubbish attracts rats and other pests, and
can contain dangerous toxic materials that can be a serious health risk to
animals and humans.
Large items, such
as mattresses, old cookers and fridges, are just as likely to be dumped as bags
of smaller types refuse. Clothes,
kitchen utensils, toys, garden rubbish, broken glass, carpets, rugs, bricks, building
materials, televisions, tyres, broken flowerpots, tiles and furniture are some
of the items and materials that are often thrown away like this.
Fly-tipping in Portugal Photo by Steve Andrews |
The varied and
beautiful countryside of Portugal, where I am now living, is so often spoiled
by this serious problem. Back home in the UK the situation is just as bad.
A report by The Guardian newspaper states that fly-tipping is up as much as by 20% in England after many
years in which it was diminishing.
Higher taxes on legally
dumping rubbish at landfill sites, as well as cuts in local services are blamed
for the problem. Closures of recycling depots and not as efficient local rubbish
collection services have helped increase the problem of fly-tipping too.
Although
flytipping is against the law and local authorities will take action to
prosecute offenders, it is often difficult to find out who the culprits are and
much of the activity is carried out under cover of darkness.
It is difficult to
understand the people who care so little about the environment and the health
of others with the eyesores they create with their illegal dumping of trash.
Personally it makes me very annoyed seeing how this problem is getting worse.
It really ruins my day when I am out enjoying a walk but come across a mouldering pile of refuse cast into
an area of natural beauty!
So what can be done about this? Of course, if we see it going on we can call the police, or if by some chance we know who is responsible then it can be reported. Unfortunately this environmental crime is so often carried out under cover of darkness.
Perhaps local groups of volunteers can be organised to help clean up countryside sites too?
It is really such a shame and a sad sign of the times to see our rural areas being turned into rubbish dumps!
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