CHANGES to county council rules on the dumping of trade waste could spark an even bigger upsurge in fly-tipping across the Bordon area. East Hampshire councillor Judy Onslow is horrified by what could happen next week, when traders are banned from dumping waste at county council Household Waste and Refuse Centres (HWRC's) without a permit. From Thursday next week, according to Hampshire County Council (HCC), commercial-type vehicles such as vans will have "restricted access" to the sites. This leaves a quandary – where will smallscale builders dump their trade waste? At the moment specialist trade waste centres are scattered across Hampshire; hazardous and electrical materials are dumped at Alton, while Basingstoke has facilities for fridge disposal and Romsey oversees tyres and metals. Mrs Onslow has accused the county council, which is responsible for the waste centres, of failing to face up to the potential crisis, fearing many tradesmen will refuse to comply with the new regulations, leaving EHDC officers to clear up the mess. Instead, she fears that more and more rubbish could end up on roadsides, or cluttering ditches and fields. Speaking to The Herald, Mrs Onslow, councillor for Greatham, Hawkley and Liss Forest, remarked: "The whole thing is just bonkers. People are driving around everywhere with all their bits to different sites – is this a sustainable way to carry on?" The matter was discussed at last week's EHDC overview and scrutiny committee (OSC) meeting, with Mrs Onslow raising some pertinent questions. She said: "Bigger builders will have skips, but for the small man who does somebody's garden, this is going to be a huge problem." And she urged that county councillors should be liaising with their district counterparts over a 'serious issue'. Whitehill councillor Adam Carew, who sits on both authorities, said he had 'tabled questions' at county level. He works with the Bordon Fly Tipping Forum, and said he hoped to see similar groups spreading across the county. His district includes fly-tipping haunts such as the Hogmoor Inclosure, the old Longmoor railway line and the Deadwater Valley Nature Reserve in his district. Mr Carew said: "The Deadwater Valley is a local nature reserve, and our rangers and volunteers, who are mostly 60 and 70 years old, spend their time picking up fly tipping, despite health and safety concerns, when they should be concerned with conservation work. It's very demoralising." EHDC's head of environment and sustainability Brian Turner said: "We are thankfully on a downward spiral. "The scale of the problem exists from small black plastic sacks of domestic waste to tipper lorries full of rubbish. "Some sites are hotspots, and over 80 per cent of fly tips are cleared within 24 hours, but asbestos and other difficult materials do take longer." Speaking about the difficulty of securing prosecutions, he added: "As with any other crime, you must have genuine evidence. "Circumstantial evidence won't stand up, and we need an affidavit from witnesses, who are prepared to go to court." "So far we have had one case where it went to court, but the defendant gave a false name and address." Mr Turner went on to say, "The work with the Bordon Fly Tip Forum has been very useful. The installation of barriers and deterrents at Bordon's Hogmoor Inclosure to stop people and vehicles taking rubbish onto land has been a success." With a maximum sentence of five years for fly- tipping and a fine of up to £50,000, Mr Turner spoke of the installation of visual deterrents. "We put up high visibility signage, and we are looking at access to grants and at several hotspots we could install a covert CCTV system. These cameras may just be that vital witness," he said. Reported offences numbered 557 in the region in 2004/5, reaching a peak of 587 in 2005/6, before declining to 436 in 2006/7. Figures for the current year which runs until April stand at 419.