ANNUAL Government statistics which show a drop in fly-tipped waste on public land in Hampshire have been welcomed.

Rob Humby, Hampshire County Council’s executive member for environment and tansport, said: “I’m pleased to see that the trend of the amount of fly-tipped waste on public land in Hampshire continues to go down, and the number of successful prosecutions remains strong.

“We’re sending out a clear message in Hampshire that fly-tipping will not be tolerated here.

“We’ve joined forces with all our partners including the police, all of the districts and borough councils across Hampshire, Southampton and Portsmouth city councils, neighbouring local authorities, the Environment Agency and rural associations to protect our countryside."

Mr Humby continued: “One of the ways we’ve been tackling this is by increasing awareness among Hampshire residents to help them understand they have a part to play.

“They can do this by checking any individual or company employed to take away waste from homes and business is legally registered to do so by asking to see their Waste Carriers Licence issued by the Environment Agency.

“Small businesses, as well as householders, can now use the household waste recycling centres in Hampshire, offering a legal, safe and convenient way to dispose of household waste.”

The national statistics show the most common size category for fly-tipping incidents during this period was equivalent to a ‘small van load’, with fly-tipped waste of this size accounting for 33 per cent of total incidents.

Public highways remain the most common land type for fly-tipping incidents, accounting for almost half.

“One of the strands of the work with our partners is to make sure it’s easier for people to report fly-tipping," said Mr Humby.

“These new figures show that there have been 23,000 reports in Hampshire of fly-tipping during the 2017/18 financial year.

“We would continue to encourage people to report fly-tipping on public land to their local council, but please don’t touch it as it could be hazardous.

“If anyone sees fly-tipping taking place, please call 999.

“Additionally, to help us build a full picture of fly-tipping across Hampshire, we would ask private landowners to keep their local councils informed of fly-tipped waste on their land they have had to deal with.”