According to an article in the Shropshire Star, a new tyre tagging scheme was launched in Shropshire by West Mercia Police to help tackle illegal fly-tipping of tyres across the UK.
The regional tyre tagging scheme was launched after seeing an increase in tyres being illegally dumped during lockdown. In one case, 1,000 tyres were dumped on land owned by Bradford Estates during the past 12 months.
Pc Phil Nock, rural business crime officer for Shropshire and West Mercia Police said:
“Incidents of illegal dumping have increased significantly in the past 18 months.” He added: “We’ve been working alongside Lord Newport and the Bradford Estates team to get to the bottom of the issues affecting them and others in the area for some time now.
We’re pleased to be at a point where we can announce our brand-new, game-changing scheme.”
All garages in Shropshire and the surrounding areas will be asked to ‘tag’ their tyres, so that when it comes to disposal, there is a trace. If the tyre is then found dumped, it can be traced back to the garage it originated from, and police will be able to find out how it was disposed of.
Pc Nock said:
“We hope this will put the responsibility back onto the garages and stop any underhand dealings going on.”
“It’s a completely free scheme where we will provide garages with everything they need in order to mark their tyres so there’s no reason not to get involved.”
According to Government figures, around 55 million waste tyres are illegally disposed of annually. And problems often occur when unscrupulous tyre dealers collect old tyres from garages with the promise they will be disposed of correctly.
Fly-tippers illegally dumping tyres can face five years in prison, unlimited fines and confiscation of profits.
PC Nock said that that he hopes the scheme can be rolled out to help combat the issue in other areas too. “For now this is very much a Shropshire scheme but we’re already having very positive conversations with other police forces across the country and I’m hoping that within time this will be standard practice nationwide.”
Source www.shropshirestar.com
