Fly Tipping

[sam4731]

A piece on GMB this morning about a woman who lives near a major fly tipping site in Wigan. Absolutely shocking conditions to live in. The smell, the rats, the filth. The government needs to act now.

They should probably also do something about the tip site while they're at it.

[The Masked Poster]

38 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

A piece on GMB this morning about a woman who lives near a major fly tipping site in Wigan. Absolutely shocking conditions to live in. The smell, the rats, the filth. The government needs to act now.

They should probably also do something about the tip site while they're at it.

This is not a new problem but it has been exacerbated by the availability of random cowboys on Facebook etc offering to get rid of people’s rubbish without being licensed. Not enough people give a toss as to whether they are licensed or not and the resultant rubbish is dumped, usually somewhere picturesque. Eric Pollard of Emmerdale Farm was on SM recently highlighting a case in Bradford.

Offenders who are identified should be fined heavily AND have to clean up their mess, as they are made to do in Spain (I think) 

Absolute scumbags. 

Edited March 20 by The Masked Poster

[Padge]

On 20/03/2026 at 08:16, sam4731 said:

A piece on GMB this morning about a woman who lives near a major fly tipping site in Wigan. Absolutely shocking conditions to live in. The smell, the rats, the filth. The government needs to act now.

They should probably also do something about the tip site while they're at it.

It's a bit more than fly tipping in this case, it is an illegal dump with thousands of tons of rubbish. The Env. Agency have finally agreed to cover the costs of sorting it out. Meanwhile criminal investigations are going on to bring the (known) culprits to book.

[Spidey]

15 hours ago, Padge said:

It's a bit more than fly tipping in this case, it is an illegal dump with thousands of tons of rubbish. The Env. Agency have finally agreed to cover the costs of sorting it out. Meanwhile criminal investigations are going on to bring the (known) culprits to book.

I’ve not followed it closely but know of others being reported.  How does an illegal dump work?  Is it a case of th criminal charging less than th council to use the dump for commercial waste? If so they and the company should be chased and fined the costs of sorting it out

[tim2]

On 24/03/2026 at 07:27, Spidey said:

I’ve not followed it closely but know of others being reported.  How does an illegal dump work?  Is it a case of th criminal charging less than th council to use the dump for commercial waste? If so they and the company should be chased and fined the costs of sorting it out

It seems that the Councils and Environment Agency tend to bounce the responsibility between themselves while the problem literally piles up. 

[Wolford6]

(1) The Environment Agency is a bureaucracy that works hand-in-glove with Civil Service depts like Defra and HMRC.

(2)There is an Environmental Permit system  (Waste Recovery) where suitable excavation wastes can be used as a construction component. I am a consultant for two such projects . . . to create sports Fishing Grounds.

One of them was actually designated as a Waste Recovery Project by the EA itself. However, now the site wants extending to completion, the EA is fighting tooth and nail to turn down the application. It has full planning Consent, but the wrangle with the EA has being going on for three years ... despite the infilled section of the site having no contamination issues and the pond is full of fish.

The reason? The EA won't admit it but I suspect it's because "construction components" don't pay Landfill Tax.

Those "construction component" soils will now be going somewhere else.

(3) I consider that the Environment Agency is the wrong organisation to pursue large-scale flytipping issues. Individual officers (many of academic mind and include many female officers) could have to deal with major-scale criminals and thus could be easily exposed to  intimidation on a personal / family basis. They signed up to save the planet (some of that naivete can still remain after several years of experience) not to be bullied, threatened or physically assaulted.

The EA should Assist the Police in pursuing such cases and be acknowledged as doing such. 

Edited March 26 by Wolford6

[RoyBoy295]

On 20/03/2026 at 08:16, sam4731 said:

A piece on GMB this morning about a woman who lives near a major fly tipping site in Wigan. Absolutely shocking conditions to live in. The smell, the rats, the filth. The government needs to act now.

They should probably also do something about the tip site while they're at it.

 

The government relocated the rats to St Helens where the locals have said they have integrated seamleslsy, and 1 local saying it is a nice change from a kebab