Fly-tipping costs us £60k a year

It makes grisly reading, but after eight years of going down fly tipping is on the up in Powys.

And it’s costing us tax payers an average of £61 each time the council had to respond to the 1,019 reports.

The report comes at a time when Powys is considering closing public drop off centres for waste, instead expecting households to recycle more and to be more responsible with what it sends to landfill.

But campaigners say that fly-tipping is an inevitable result of cuts to the collection service and expect this figure to increase considerably if the closures go ahead.

Authorities have reminded us that fly-tipping is a criminal activity punishable by fines of up to £50,000 or prison and culprits also face a tax under the Welsh Government's new Landfill Disposals Tax Bill.

Across Wales, the number of incidents has almost halved in recent years, but the past year’s spike will be a cause for concern. Estimated clearance costs have risen from £1.8m to £2.1m comparing year on year figures.