If it costs to dispose of waste, there is the danger that people may resort to fly-tipping – the illegal dumping of waste in the countryside or on the streets. But several local authorities have indeed been charging for the disposal of building/DIY waste, with the inevitable consequences of huge quantities of dumped rubbish.
Apart from being an eyesore and damaging the environment, fly-tipped waste can be a health hazard, often containing toxic materials, such as asbestos and chemicals. According to the UK government, in 2020/21 there were over 60 000 incidents of fly-tipping of construction, demolition and excavation material, costing an estimated £392 million. In addition, people leave black bags of household waste and single items, such as mattresses, on the roadside.
The external costs are considerably greater than the benefits to those doing the dumping, but because the costs are largely external, people are encouraged to fly-tip, especially if they think that they are unlikely to be caught. Many householders are happy to pay low rates to have their DIY waste disposed of and ‘ask no questions’ about what will happen to it.
It is clearly socially efficient to stop fly-tipping. One solution is to enforce the law more rigorously and to introduce stiffer penalties. Increasingly, local authorities and private landowners are installing CCTV cameras to identify people doing the tipping. To be effective, the cameras must be out of reach. Also, the police must then follow up any cases and arrest and charge the culprits.
An alternative is to provide free disposal at council tips. The UK government has launched a consultation on a proposal to prevent local authorities from charging for the disposal of DIY waste. This still involves an externality in that the costs of disposal are not being borne by the person creating the waste, but clearly the size of the negative externality is considerably less than if the waste had been fly-tipped.
Selected local authorities can apply for new grants totalling £450 000 to help fund the provision of free DIY waste disposal and to install systems, such as CCTV and automatic number-plate recognition, to catch fly-tippers in action.
Devising policies to reduce externalities often involves understanding the incentive mechanisms which encourage people to engage in such activities in the first place and then making it in people’s interests not to engage in them in the future.
Videos
Fees for recycling DIY waste could be scrapped to prevent fly-tipping- Government cracks down on fly-tipping
ITV News, Rhys Williams (11/4/22)
5 News, Katherine Nash (11/4/22)
Articles
- DIY waste recycling fees could be scrapped
- DIY waste disposal will no longer incur charge under new plans
- Fly-tipping, a sign of the times
BBC News (11/4/22)
The Guardian, Jenn Selby (11/4/22)
This is Local London, Millicent Foster (26/1/21)
Government publications
- Crackdown on waste crime: Time to stop trashing our future
- Government announces new crackdown on fly-tipping
Environment Agency, Speech, Sir James Bevan (12/4/22)
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Press Release (11/4/22)
Questions
- Draw a diagram to illustrate how the consumption of products with large negative externalities is considerably above the socially efficient level.
- Compare the relative advantages and disadvantages of the various policy alternatives to tackle fly-tipping that are discussed in the articles.
- Are there any ‘nudges’ that could be used to prevent fly-tipping?