WHILE it might not grab the headlines, or capture the public’s imagination, as much as Brexit negotiations, or even ITV’s Love Island, the country is currently in the middle of a fly-tipping epidemic.

You might think the extent of the problem is a stray sofa, washing machine or bags of domestic rubbish lazily left in a public space, but fly-tipping is becoming a big issue – and for some criminals – big business.

Local authorities are being forced to spend more and more taxpayer funds tackling the problem. In 2014/15 councils up and down the country shelled out almost £50m on cleaning up the mess left by fly-tippers.

You have probably seen the extent of the issue first hand. In South Lakeland alone in 2014/15 there were 380 incidents of fly tipping.

But why is fly-tipping on the increase?

Some fly-tipping is carried out by individuals who dump their rubbish in the countryside. In addition, many companies, especially smaller and medium-sized firms, are struggling to cope with changes to environmental legislation, which has made getting rid of waste more difficult and more expensive. The new laws are also being strongly enforced, making fly-tipping even more attractive to the unscrupulous minority.

And, although it might not seem like an area of interest to criminals, an influx of organised gangs offering cheap disposal services to businesses and then simply fly-tipping the waste, is making the problem more difficult to deal with.

Perhaps the untold story, the one I deal with on a daily basis in my role, is the impact fly-tipping has on local businesses.

You might think that farms, rural businesses and other companies with green spaces are the sole targets but fly-tipping is spreading into new areas.

Fly-tipping is beginning to impact an array of different enterprises. More sophisticated fly-tippers often set up dummy companies, which advertise cheap skip rentals on lampposts around town, take out short-term leases on warehouses then fill them from floor to ceiling with waste.

By the time property owners and landlords realise what has happened the tippers are gone, leaving tonnes of mixed waste, which has to be sorted and disposed of, which is expensive and time consuming.

But how do we solve the problem? Raising awareness is the first step – which is why I would urge everyone to get behind The Westmorland Gazette’s Stop the Fly-tippers campaign.

However, I would challenge local businesses – not just in the Lakes but up and down the country – to form the front line against fly-tipping and work alongside local authorities to help crackdown on the organised gangs.

Prevention is vital and if businesses can make themselves a much harder target, the battle against fly-tipping can be won.

By encouraging local residents to report anything suspicious, keeping a close eye on the local media for fly-tipping hotspots and by securing their grounds with fencing and concrete bollards, businesses can force fly-tippers to look elsewhere.

Meanwhile, landlords have to regularly inspect their properties for the signs of fly-tippers and also make sure they are properly vetting new tenants – especially those who want to take short-term leases.

Businesses that have already become victims of fly-tipping have to act quickly and remove waste as early as possible. The more waste left in an area the more attractive it is to other tippers.

Fly-tipping is not just an eyesore it can also be dangerous. Tipped rubbish has been known to include specialist and clinical waste, which can be hazardous, which is why it has never been more important to tackle the problem head on.

If the business community takes a strong stance against fly-tipping – and helps raise awareness of the Stop the Fly-tippers campaign – it can go a long way to inspiring local residents to make a similar commitment.