Residents complain about the plan to close twelve garbage dumps that are labeled as 'nonsense'

RESIDENTS have rejected plans to close 12 landfills, saying it will turn their area into a dumping ground.

Locals in Hampshire could lose a dozen rubbish centers in their area as the council tries to save money.

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The county council has put forward plans to close five household waste recycling centers to plug a £132 million budget gap.

It says a further seven centers need investment if they are to survive.

Smoking residents are up in arms over the proposed closures, saying their area will become a hotspot for flying chickens.

One person wrote on Facebook: “So Hampshire County Council is thinking of closing landfill sites including Marchwood Tip to save money?

“What a short-sighted and silly idea, all of this will encourage people to tip which will then cost the council more money to clean up.”

Another fumed: “It's rubbish. They will have to pay a lot more for tip cleanup, which will increase significantly if people can't throw out their trash and recycle items.”

Councilor Caroline Rackham said she is also concerned this would lead to an increase in tipping.

She told the BBC: “Ponies come to the waste where the flies end up and look for food, so they can hurt or suffocate themselves if there is plastic in it. It contains harmful substances that people can fly around and that can end up in rivers or affect birds. .

“It's such a concern in this biodiverse area.”

A flycatcher can be fined up to £50,000, or even more if the case goes to the Crown Court, an offender can even be sent to prison.

Municipalities can take action against people suspected or caught of chicken tipping, including impounding vehicles suspected of dumping waste in a way that causes pollution to the environment, and prosecuting, which could result in a criminal record if found guilty in court.

You could be fined up to €400 by the local authority and have to pay the clean-up costs

The council says it is considering alternatives, including changing the types of waste accepted at the centers and limiting opening hours.

Council leader Rob Humby said: “We currently have 24 HWRCs and we believe this is more than any other province.

'We have very clear criteria from the government about the tonnage they can take and how far people can be expected to drive.

'That helped us determine which ones would not be viable if we had to cut back on services due to our financial pressures.

“We truly believe that most Hampshire residents are law abiding and will not tip.”

LAWS FOR FLY CHIPPING

Fly-tipping is a serious criminal offense for which you can be prosecuted.

The courts have a range of powers at their disposal to tackle tipping, including prison sentences, unlimited fines and an order to disqualify the rights to any vehicle used to commit the offence.

Fly-tipping is defined as the “illegal dumping of waste on land that is not licensed to accept it”.

Dumping a mattress, electrical appliances or a garbage bag full of waste on the street causes local nuisance and makes a neighborhood look ugly and dilapidated.

At the larger end of the scale, landfilling can involve dumping several truckloads of construction and demolition waste onto different types of soil.

Uncontrolled illegal waste disposal can be dangerous to the public, especially if it contains toxic material or asbestos.

There is a risk of damage to watercourses and soil quality due to the dumped waste.

More than a million cases of fly-tipping were dealt with in England every year.

The 34 million tonnes of rubbish left on the streets and countryside every year would fill 30 Wembley stadiums to the brim.

By 2021 this would cost the economy £1 billion per year – 55 per cent more than in 2015.

Organized crime gangs and repeat offenders are behind the devastating mess, an Environment Agency report has found.