Resources and Waste Minister Rebecca Pow has announced new grants totalling £775,000 for local authorities to support projects that reduce fly-tipping.
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) say 21 local authorities will benefit from the grants, with schemes including roadside CCTV and social media campaigns in Plymouth and targeted surveillance at hotspot areas in Pendle.
Defra says the projects include portable CCTV cameras across Northumberland, anti-climb fencing in Hyndburn and larger recycling bins in better locations in Mansfield.
Councils will have six months to roll out their initiatives before being required to share how they worked in practice and help other councils to develop similar schemes.
The new grants build on the first round of projects, which provided £450,000 to 11 local authorities last year.
Our first round of grants over the last year were a big success, which is why we are expanding this scheme to help more local authorities.
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow commented: “Fly-tipping is a cynical crime which blights communities and the environment.
“Our first round of grants over the last year were a big success, which is why we are expanding this scheme to help more local authorities around the country take the fight to waste criminals.”
The grant scheme is part of wider action the UK government is taking to tackle fly-tipping and waste crime. The government has consulted on reforming the waste carrier, broker, and dealer regime, introducing mandatory digital waste tracking and preventing councils from charging for the disposal of DIY waste at local tips.
Defra is also developing a fly-tipping toolkit with the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to help establish best practices among local authorities.
As part of the UK government’s plan to tackle “anti-social behaviour”, the Prime Minister has pledged to increase the upper limit on fines for fly-tipping from £400 to £1,000.
