Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins has told GB News the “Government has got to get a grip” on fly-tipping after a visit to one of the UK’s fly-tipping hotspots saw overflowing bins, dumped waste, and litter on the streets.
The People’s Channel visited the London Borough of Camden with the MP for Louth and Horncastle to take a look at Britain’s “waste crisis” head on.
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Camden was the second-worst-affected borough and area in England, with 34,786 recorded incidents of fly-tipping in 2023/2024.
This is more than 10 times the national average of 3,249.
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Speaking to the People’s Channel, Atkins said: “We do not want this rubbish on our streets, the Government's got to get a grip on this.
“Imagine how many local residents who've been constantly walking past this and indeed, we've seen ourselves this morning, just as we've been wandering around, people stepping over all of the rubbish.
She added: “So we know that this is a real problem in Camden. We know, sadly in other councils across London it's a huge problem as well.”
Croydon was the worst-affected borough in England when ranked by total number of incidents, reporting 35,470 incidents in the past year, whilst just behind Camden was Hackney, totalling 33,464 incidents.
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Country-wide, fly-tipping incidents have reached a record high of 1.15 million in 2023/24 - a six per cent increase from the 1.08 million incidents reported the previous year.
Whilst walking around Camden, GB News spoke with local resident Terry, who said the council “need to do something about this”.
Terry, who has lived in the area for 43 years, said “we’re getting just like Birmingham”.
“There’s just rubbish and squatters everywhere. The council should be doing something like this.
“Why don’t they put a camera on the bins so you can see who is throwing s**t out there?” he suggested.
Terry, who lives above a street he says is constantly flooded with rubbish, added: “We’re getting like Birmingham. They’re just disgusting, these bins.
“It’s just not nice for people who live here. It’s filled with rubbish everywhere.”
Atkins said that the Conservatives want to enforce fly-tipping fines across the whole country, so that fly-tippers will be “responsible for cleaning up their rubbish”.
She told the People’s Channel: “I love our capital city. I'm proud of our country. And looking at this, whether it's here in Camden, the Prime Minister's own constituency or whether it's further afield in beautiful rural areas such as my own constituency, we do not want this rubbish on our streets and in our fields.
“And here in the Prime Minister's own constituency, where council tax would be going up this week, residents would be right to look at this and think, is this Labour Council really providing us with value for money?”
Camden Council has agreed to a 4.99 per cent council tax rise for 2025-2026, with a 2.99 per cent increase in core council tax levels and a 2 per cent rise from the Adult Social Care Precept.
Atkins also discussed the rise of criminally organised waste disposal, which has been referred to previously by the head of the Environment Agency as the “new narcotics”.
“Vans, cars, possibly even lorries of waste are being driven to rural areas to dump it there,” Atkins said, whose seat of Louth and Horncastle sits in pastoral Lincolnshire.
The Conservatives are pushing for amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, which could see drivers get points on their licenses if caught fly-tipping.
The Local Government Association recently urged the Government to review sentencing guidelines for fly-tipping.
They called for “bigger fines for more serious offences to act as a deterrent”.
GB News has contacted Camden Council for comment.
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The People’s Channel visited the London Borough of Camden with the MP for Louth and Horncastle to take a look at Britain’s “waste crisis” head on.
SIGN OUR PETITION: CALLING FOR HARSHER PUNISHMENT FOR THOSE THAT TRASH OUR COUNTRY
Camden was the second-worst-affected borough and area in England, with 34,786 recorded incidents of fly-tipping in 2023/2024.
This is more than 10 times the national average of 3,249.
Sign our petition to stop the litter blight across our United Kingdom
Speaking to the People’s Channel, Atkins said: “We do not want this rubbish on our streets, the Government's got to get a grip on this.
“Imagine how many local residents who've been constantly walking past this and indeed, we've seen ourselves this morning, just as we've been wandering around, people stepping over all of the rubbish.
She added: “So we know that this is a real problem in Camden. We know, sadly in other councils across London it's a huge problem as well.”
Croydon was the worst-affected borough in England when ranked by total number of incidents, reporting 35,470 incidents in the past year, whilst just behind Camden was Hackney, totalling 33,464 incidents.
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Country-wide, fly-tipping incidents have reached a record high of 1.15 million in 2023/24 - a six per cent increase from the 1.08 million incidents reported the previous year.
Whilst walking around Camden, GB News spoke with local resident Terry, who said the council “need to do something about this”.
Terry, who has lived in the area for 43 years, said “we’re getting just like Birmingham”.
“There’s just rubbish and squatters everywhere. The council should be doing something like this.
“Why don’t they put a camera on the bins so you can see who is throwing s**t out there?” he suggested.
Terry, who lives above a street he says is constantly flooded with rubbish, added: “We’re getting like Birmingham. They’re just disgusting, these bins.
“It’s just not nice for people who live here. It’s filled with rubbish everywhere.”
Atkins said that the Conservatives want to enforce fly-tipping fines across the whole country, so that fly-tippers will be “responsible for cleaning up their rubbish”.
She told the People’s Channel: “I love our capital city. I'm proud of our country. And looking at this, whether it's here in Camden, the Prime Minister's own constituency or whether it's further afield in beautiful rural areas such as my own constituency, we do not want this rubbish on our streets and in our fields.
“And here in the Prime Minister's own constituency, where council tax would be going up this week, residents would be right to look at this and think, is this Labour Council really providing us with value for money?”
Camden Council has agreed to a 4.99 per cent council tax rise for 2025-2026, with a 2.99 per cent increase in core council tax levels and a 2 per cent rise from the Adult Social Care Precept.
Atkins also discussed the rise of criminally organised waste disposal, which has been referred to previously by the head of the Environment Agency as the “new narcotics”.
“Vans, cars, possibly even lorries of waste are being driven to rural areas to dump it there,” Atkins said, whose seat of Louth and Horncastle sits in pastoral Lincolnshire.
The Conservatives are pushing for amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, which could see drivers get points on their licenses if caught fly-tipping.
The Local Government Association recently urged the Government to review sentencing guidelines for fly-tipping.
They called for “bigger fines for more serious offences to act as a deterrent”.
GB News has contacted Camden Council for comment.
Sign our petition to stop the litter blight across our United Kingdom
Find Out More...