Following Test Valley Borough Council’s recent plea for residents to check that the waste operators they use are properly licensed, the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) would like to re-iterate the importance of that message.

Householders should check that operators are registered waste carriers. Registration documents should be available on request and should be inspected before services are rendered or money paid.

It’s worth paying for waste removal online if possible, as you then have a record that you’ve made the payment, rather than cash which is harder to trace if something does go wrong.

Many people do not realise that they have a legal duty to look up waste carriers, and we would encourage all councils to help educate residents about their responsibilities.

As Test Valley Borough Council says, by doing the necessary checks and getting a waste transfer note, you could save yourself a day in court and a criminal record.

CLA South East represents thousands of landowners, farmers and rural businesses in Kent, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and the Isle of Wight. We believe that we must all take responsibility and make sure our waste does not end up in the hands of criminals who will wilfully dump it.

Nearly one million fly-tipping cases were recorded by local authorities last year. The true figures are likely to be significantly higher, however, as the statistics do not include incidents on private land, where the landowner has responsibility to oversee the clearance and cost for waste removal. The CLA estimates it costs a farmer or landowner an average of £844 to clear up each incident.

The CLA would urge anyone who sees people dumping items or acting suspiciously to report it, either through the 101 service or to your local authority.

For more information about the CLA and its work, visit www.cla.org.uk/your-area/south-east/regional-news and follow @CLASouthEast on Twitter.

Tim Bamford,

Acting Regional Director, CLA South East