Residents Tired of Car Tyres

Tuesday, 12 May 2009

The moors above Cragg Vale are being targeted by fly tippers as an easy place to leave their rubbish. Mainly old car tyres, which now incur a disposal fee called the "landfill tax" when they are disposed of, it is not unusual to find piles of them appearing overnight. The Cragg Vale Residents Association have been monitoring and reporting these cases to Calderdale Council Environmental Health Department who have been trying to keep up with them.

Scott Trickett, Chair - Cragg Vale Community Association

Scott Trickett, Vice-Chair of the Association and Hebden Royd Councillor for Cragg Vale said, "We're so fortunate up here to have great views across the moors, but when they are interrupted by a pile of fifty or sixty tyres that have appeared overnight it really is upsetting. As quickly as they are removed another pile appears. The hard work of the Environmental Health Department is often wasted. We are convinced they fly tippers travel over from the Rochdale/Littleborough area and leave their waste on our doorstep. It may just be one unscrupulous operator, probably a tyre fitter or even a garage, but we need help to catch them and then stop them."

Fly tipping is illegal because

• Uncontrolled waste disposal can be hazardous to the public,
  especially when the waste consists of drums of toxic material,
  asbestos sheeting or syringes.
• There can be damage to watercourses, and underlying soil quality
  from the dumped waste.
• Fly-tipping looks unsightly and this can harm investment into an area.
• Cleaning up fly-tipping costs taxpayers money.
  

Jason Boom, Environmental Community Warden for Hebden Royd Town Council told the Hebden Bridge Web, "If anybody travelling along Blackstone Edge Road, the B6138, from Blackstone Edge Reservoir down into Cragg Vale notices any small commercial vehicles driving slowly along this road could they note the registration and let me or Calderdale Environmental Health know the details. It's likely they are looking for a place to stop and leave their load. It is also likely to be late at night or in the early morning. Prosecutions of fly tippers could result in heavy penalties for the offenders. Fly-tipping fines are up to £20,000 and/or 6 months' imprisonment. Where fly-tipping involves the use of a vehicle, the driver can be prosecuted, as can the owner of the vehicle.

You can contact Jason on 07796 940391 or Calderdale Environmental Health on 0845 245 6000