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# County council says introduction of charges at recycling centres in Lichfield and Burntwood has not led to increase in fly-tipping
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/county-council-says-introduction-of-charges-at-recycling-centres-in-lichfield-and-burntwood-has-not-led-to-increase-in-fly-tipping/
- Published: 2018-04-04T07:25:09.000Z
- Updated: 2018-04-04T07:26:57.000Z
- Description: A new report has revealed that the introduction of charges for some items at recycling centres in Lichfield and Burntwood has not led to increases in fly tipping.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Politics, News

A new report has revealed that the introduction of charges for some items at recycling centres in Lichfield and Burntwood has not led to increases in fly-tipping.

[![Lichfield Household Recycling Centre. Pic: Google Streetview](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/lichfield-tip.jpg)](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/2016/10/14/charges-to-be-introduced-for-some-types-of-non-household-waste-left-at-recycling-centres-in-lichfield-and-burntwood/lichfield-tip/)

Lichfield Household Recycling Centre. Pic: Google Streetview

Staffordshire County Council unveiled the fees for plasterboard, rubble and tyres towards the end of 2016.

There had been [criticism of the proposals from Labour councillors](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/2016/10/27/charges-for-some-types-of-waste-to-be-introduced-in-lichfield-and-burntwood-despite-fly-tipping-fears/) in Lichfield and Burntwood amid fears the changes could have an impact on fly-tipping in the area.

But Staffordshire County Council says statistics from eight borough and district councils in the 12 months since the charges were introduced showed that levels of illegal dumping remained the same or rose briefly before returning to previous levels.

The study also showed the period between April and June 2017 saw the lowest number of ‘small scale’ fly-tipping incidents for two years.

Cllr Gill Heath, Cabinet member for communities, said: “Charging to cover the costs of disposing of non-household waste materials such as soil, rubble, plasterboard and tyres ensures that we can offer residents a convenient way to dispose of awkward and difficult waste, while allowing us to focus resources on supporting the most vulnerable people in our society.

“These figures, gathered by the district and borough councils, are entirely in line with our expectations before the scheme started and I never thought the people of Staffordshire would break the law rather than pay £3 or £4 to dispose of non-household waste legally.”

The report says visits to household waste recycling centres involving the chargeable items amounted to 2.5% of all visits over the 12 month period.

Cllr Heath added: “Although there has been no long term increase in small scale fly-tipping, there has been a rise in recent years of criminal gangs dumping tonnes of commercial waste in the countryside.

“Both types of crime are terribly anti-social. We are working with police, the Environment Agency and other local councils and I would urge anyone who sees anything suspicious to contact the police immediately.”