Did introducing tip charges increase flytipping in Buckinghamshire?
A Council report appears to show a steady rise since April 2019
Flytipping incidents have been steadily rising in Buckinghamshire - ever since charges for some waste were introduced at our tips.
We were told by Bucks Council that this wouldn't happen.
However, a report shows the 12-month average of clean-ups has risen by around 1,500 since April 2019 when fees were brought in.
We have been speaking to Councillor Bill Chapple, who oversees the Council's waste services and made the decision to bring in the charges.
Flytipped waste reported 'three times a day' in Aylesbury Vale
46 flytipping convictions in Buckinghamshire in 2020
He told us:
"We are not charging hundreds of pounds.
"It could be say £10 to bring in your non-domestic waste. It's a reasonable sum.
"We have to pay to get rid of that and what we are doing is covering that cost."
Over half the illegally dumped rubbish comes from out of the county, with 60% of it being 'trade' waste.
There was a peak in incidents during the first lockdown, with numbers now appearing to be trending down again.
But that rise did begin in April 2019, well before coronavirus was an issue.
We asked Bill if they'd made a mistake bringing in fees:
"Some people will say that flytipping has gone up since we started charging for non-domestic waste, but that is not true.
"The people that flytip are people who do not use our household recycling centres."
You can report fly-tipped waste here.