YEP says: Leeds is blighted by fly-tipping and we must make alternatives easy and cheap

There is no doubt that most of it is nothing short of plain vandalism, the selfish actions of a few unscrupulous people who, for reasons best known to themselves, would rather pollute streets, towns, villages or the lovely Yorkshire countryside with their (or others’) disused goods, than bother to find out how to dispose of it legally and safely.

Therein lies a problem though. The rules and regulations for the disposal of certain things are somewhat complex.

Most would turn to the local council for advice when they needed to get rid of a bulky item like a sofa or an environmentally unfriendly one like an old fridge. But head to the LCC website and the main piece of advice is to contact a charity, there’s even a list of suggested ones. That’s ok if it’s of use but charities are not there to pick up rubbish are they?

The website then states: “If you are unable to get rid of your items in the above ways and you are prepared to wait for up to 3 weeks, we offer a limited service to remove items from homes. This will be chargeable at a subsidised rate of £20.00.” It’s hardly encouraging is it? You could take it to the tip but household recycling sites have strict rules on who can use them and what can be recycled and good luck to the DIYer trying to get rid of an old bathroom suite. If we want to stop flytipping we have to make it easy and cheap - gone are the days when a good sofa would last you a lifetime. This problem is not going away.