asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many incidents of fly-tipping were recorded in the years 2001 to 2006; what were the clean-up costs for each year; and how many successful prosecutions were completed. [HL1605]

Flycapture, the national database of fly-tipping incidents, was set up in 2004 by Defra, the Environment Agency and the Local Government Association, to record fly-tipping incidents dealt with by the Environment Agency and local authorities. Data on fly-tipping levels are, therefore, available only from April 2004 onwards.

Flycapture data show that, in England, 926,534 incidents were reported in the period from April 2004 to March 2005. There were 1,034,518 incidents reported from April 2005 to March 2006.

The cost of clearing illegally dumped waste reported by local authorities between April 2004 and March 2005 was over £44 million. Between April 2005 and March 2006, the cost was almost £50 million. Over half of this cost was due to clearing fly-tips equal to small van-sized loads of waste. When the costs of clearance on private land are included, the 2005-06 clearance costs are estimated to rise to over £100 million.

The number of defendants found guilty of offences under Sections 33 and 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 is shown in the table below. Data from 2006 will not be available until November 2007.