'Tyre fly-tips are costing tax payers thousands' » Local Government » 24dash.com

A spate of tyre fly-tipping in first few weeks of 2007 has cost Kingston Council an estimated £6,500. 

Never before has Kingston Council had to deal with three separate large-scale fly-tips of used tyres in the space of one month. 

The problem was highlighted when 1,700 used tyres were illegally dumped recently at the Hogsmill Open Space in Surbiton.

It took nearly a week for Council Officers to clear the area and cost £4,000, plus labour and transport costs, to have the tyres disposed of responsibly.

Rob Dickson, Head of Environment and Sustainability at Kingston Council, said: "Along with every council in the country, we are used to dealing with fly-tips.  Tyres are ified as hazardous waste, so they present us with a particular problem when they are disposed of irresponsibly. 

"They must be handled by licensed collectors who take the tyres away to be recycled and reused in a number of different ways, including supplementary fuel and reprocessing into rubber chips for use in playgrounds and road surfaces.

"It is the responsibility of the tyre fitters, not the Council, to ensure that used tyres are disposed of in the correct way.  In the case of the fly-tip at the Hogsmill Open Space, the number of tyres involved means that it can only have been the work of a 'professional' company using artic-sized vehicles." 

Mr Dickson said: "We are acting quickly to try and stop this happening again by raising the height of the fences along the road-side.  The Police have also agreed to introduce additional patrols in the areas being targeted by fly-tippers and the Council will not hesitate to prosecute offenders should we be in a position to do so." 

Two further fly-tips of used tyres have occurred recently in Chessington and in Kingston Vale, although on a smaller scale to that found at the Hogmsill Open Space. 

"In the last few weeks the Council has removed and safely disposed of almost 2,000 illegally dumped tyres," said Liz Shard, Executive Member for Sustainability and Biodiversity at Kingston Council. 

"A few minutes of illegal activity has cost the borough's tax payers thousands of pounds.  At a time when budgets for delivering front-line council services are tight, it is appalling to think that people are acting so irresponsibly."