A WASTE removal licensing scheme could help efforts to crack down on fly-tipping, Monmouth MP David Davies has said.

Speaking in Parliament this week, the Conservative MP said local authorities must be given more powers to find and penalise those responsible for dumping waste.

Saying “we certainly do need tougher police action and tougher penalties for people who are caught fly-tipping”, Mr Davies said he was concerned, under current regulations, a landowner is liable for the removal of any waste dumped on their land. He said the law should be changed so those responsible for the fly-tipping can be prosecuted.

“There is room for some kind of voluntary licensing scheme, a little bit like that in force for anyone who wants to be a door supervisor,” he said.

“In other words, we would give an organisation like the Security Industry Association the power to accredit anyone who wants to move away waste.

“Those who want to take away waste can apply for a licence, there would obviously be a charge for it, and would be able to establish themselves as legitimate operators.

“They would have to undergo training. They would not be able to breach any health and safety rules or tip waste illegally or they would lose their licence.”

He added anyone who uses a non-accredited company to remove waste could then be held accountable if the material was then dumped.

“That is not a panacea, of course, but it is one of a number of moves that we could think about,” he said. “It would get people who produce waste, whether small businesses or householders, thinking about whether they use one company that is a bit cheaper or another that is accredited.

“Using the accredited company might cost a little more, but they would not run the risk of having somebody knocking on the door in the months to come and demanding payment of a bill of thousands of pounds in order to remove waste that has been illegally tipped.

“It would quickly raise public awareness of the problem, because any company that had paid for a licence to get itself accredited would be making that very clear in its advertising, whether on websites or elsewhere.

“It would alert the public to the fact that, frankly, there are a lot of cowboys out there going around breaking the law.”

Any incidents of fly tipping should be reported to the relevant local authority.