We’ve all seen it. Piles of bin bags in lay-bys, old mattresses and sofas on grass verges, and heaps of rubble on areas of waste ground.

Fly-tipping costs local authorities hundreds of thousands of pounds every year. Across the UK, from April 2010 to March 2011, the cost of clearing illegally-dumped waste was £41.3 million. Over that period, local authorities in England report that they dealt with almost 820,000 incidents.

Locally, efforts by teams from Bradford Council, working in partnership with West Yorkshire Police, has seen a dramatic fall in the number of incidents over the past two years, from 8,130 in the 12 months up to March 2011, to 6,215 in the year up to March 2012. From April to August this year there have been 2,549 incidents, which is on target for a further reduction in the financial year.

This is mainly due to the fall in the number of incidents involving vehicle parts, white goods and electrical products. In the year to March 2011, 663 white goods, 239 electrical items and 89 vehicle parts were dumped, falling the following year to 224, 90 and 67 respectively. In the five months to August, this year such incidents numbered 27, 23 and 32.

“There is such a high value for scrap metal that people are not dumping it as they used to,” says Carol Morgan, environmental health manager for Bradford Council’s environmental enforcement team.

“We commonly hear of incidents of metal theft, but less of dumping. These products have a high value, and people will strip items such as fridges to see what components they can salvage and sell.”

In common with all local authorities, Bradford reports incidents to a national fly-tipping database, Flycapture. This records details including the number of incidents, type of waste, location and number of completed actions against the perpetrator.

“Most fly-tipped waste in Bradford is found beside roads, on footpaths and in alleys,” says Carol. “We are seeing the numbers on agricultural and commercial/industrial land falling, due to landowners making increased efforts to protect their land, as well as the redevelopment of derelict land.”

Construction waste – which should be legally disposed of at an official tip – is one of the most common, along with general household goods such as rubbish bags, and larger items including sofas, mattresses and carpets.

“It is easy for people to correctly dispose of waste and to recycle much of it,” says Carol. “We collect many household goods such as sofas and mattresses free – up to five items costs nothing. The effort of dumping far outweighs the effort of calling us.”

Householders continue to fall victim to unscrupulous waste collectors. “There is, potentially, money in fly-tipping. People offer to get rid of waste for others, then dump it.”

Carol points out that householders passing their waste to an unauthorised dealer can land them in trouble. “Households have a duty of care and can be fined if they don’t take reasonable measures to ensure that it is correctly disposed of.”

Green waste is often dumped by people who believe it will decompose naturally. “It may do in part, but it is still unsightly,” she says.

Stop-and-search inspections carried out regularly by the Council and the police of vehicles on Bradford’s roads, are helping to tackle this.

“We check that they are proper, registered carriers, holding an appropriate licence. If this isn’t the case we will issue a fixed penalty notice.” The Council may work with other local authorities, on boundaries between the districts and the Vehicle and Operators Services Agency (VOSA) may be involved.

“This has had a significant impact,” says Carol. “Word gets round. We don’t find many now that are unlicensed.”

“We can also stop horses and carts carrying goods,” she adds. The team also educate businesses as to their responsibilities.

Some sites have CCTV cameras, which are officially signed. There is no covert surveillance, although in some cases legal permission can be sought for cameras to help catch offenders.

Carol stresses the importance of help from members of the public. “We are heavily reliant upon them passing us information, and we have a lot of Council wardens on the ground who also act as our eyes and ears.”

Wardens respond to reports quickly and attempt gather evidence to pass to enforcement officers.

Carol would like to see steeper fines, but realises that the courts are often restricted.

“Enforcement on its own is never going to be enough. Encouraging people to reduce the amount of waste they throw away is key,” she adds. “Don’t use so much packaging, and recycle wherever you can.”

To report a fly-tipping incident, call (01274) 434366 or visit bradford.gov.uk/bmdc/the_ environment.