What a load of rubbish: Dacorum flytipping reports on the up

There were 880 reports of the crime – which is punishable by up to a year in prison and a £50,000 fine – in the 2011 to 2012 financial year.

In the 2012 to 2013 year, the figure fell to 832, but in 2013 to 2014, it jumped to a huge 1,085.

The Gazette regularly reports on the huge piles of trash dumped in the borough’s flytipping hotspots, which include Cupid Green Lane and Holtsmere End Lane in Hemel Hempstead.

But Dacorum Borough Council, which is responsible for policing flytipping, says it has a successful prosecution rate and that six cases are currently being investigated.

The authority spent £110,825 collecting flytipped rubbish and £41,415 in enforcement action against the people who dumped it during the April 2011 to March 2012 financial year.

The figure fell to £83,715 for collection but rose to £42,339 for enforcement the following year.

In the last financial year, measuring April 2013 to March 2014, the collection cost was £98,781 while enforcement actions cost the authority £53,658.

Around 80% of flytipping is domestic waste, consisting of white goods and debris from building improvements - usually totalling a small van-load.

The remainder are commercial ranging from larger building or tree surgery jobs to lorry loads of tyres.

Flytipping can be reported to the council by phoning 01442 228000 or by visiting its website its website here

If flytipping is witnessed out of office hours it can be reported to our CCTV team on 01442 228778.