Fly tipping: the illegal dumping of waste on land without the permission of the land owner. It’s common in rural areas, with plenty of fields and woods to leave unwanted rubbish, but there’s also a real problem with fly tipping in the capital. This type of criminal activity can have an adverse effect on the environment, whether it occurs on the urban streets of London or the winding country lanes of Essex and Surrey.
Dumping foreign objects in places they don’t belong can have a huge impact on the natural, social and economic environment. Potential chemicals in such waste can contaminate soil, for example – and if the land is owned by someone whose livelihood depends entirely on soil conditions, fly tipping can have a catastrophic effect. Animals who use the soil can also suffer health problems as a result of fly tipping, whether it’s farmland or simply a public park. The illegal dumping of waste on public land can have a real impact on local wildlife.
Disease transmission is also a real problem when it comes to fly tipping. If the waste contains anything a rodent might eat for lunch, fly tipping can cause real problems with pest control and mouse or rat infestations. These animals are renowned for spreading diseases (would you expect anything less from a creature whose home is the sewer?) and they’re generally a huge nuisance, especially for those who live in close-knit urban areas, like the majority of London.
When people look for a place to fly tip, the main criteria are that it has to be a quiet, remote location where they won’t get caught. What they don’t consider is that the location of their waste can have real repercussions on the surrounding environment. For example, if waste is dumped in a river or a canal, it can cause blockages that are potentially hazardous to anyone who frequents the area. The sight of a discarded shopping trolley in an urban canal might be so common that we barely notice it, but the introduction of a foreign object into this environment can have a hugely detrimental impact on ducks, birds and other wildlife.
Many people dispose of hazardous materials when they fly tip – purely because they can’t think of another way to get rid of a potentially dangerous substance. Here at Enviro Waste, we feel disheartened whenever we see that fly tipping has occurred. We want to keep waste out of landfill – but seeing it cluttering up our streets is not the solution! Our comprehensive fly tipping removal service gets rid of all waste safely and securely, taking the first steps to restoring the environment to its former glory.
