Rubbish is illegally dumped somewhere in England every 35 seconds, according to new figures released today which show the true extent of the menace of fly-tipping. Not only is this spoiling the local environment, but it is also costing authorities almost £100 a minute to clear up.

The new information comes from Flycapture, a national fly-tipping database set up by Defra, the Environment Agency and the Local Government Association (LGA) in 2004. Local authorities and the Environment Agency record details of all fly-tipping incidents that they deal with on Flycapture. For the first time, the database has enabled Government to compile a comprehensive national picture of the true extent of fly-tipping to help focus resources, target hotspots and identify trends.

Speaking at a joint Defra, Environment Agency and LGA fly-tipping conference today, Environment Minister Elliot Morley explained how the information will be used to help authorities focus their efforts on enforcing against fly-tipping and preventing future incidents, rather than just concentrating on expensive clearance. "Fly-tipping is a serious environmental crime that will not be tolerated. We recognised it was an increasing problem but fortunately, with the kind of information we now have on Flycapture, we can see what is being dumped, where it is being dumped, how often and how much it is costing local authorities to clear up.

Barbara Young, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency explained how Flycapture contains information on incidents dealt with, actions taken and a vehicle registration hot-list that encourages joint working between authorities. "Flycapture shows what we have been saying for some time now, that fly-tipping is a big problem that affects a lot of people. The figures show that every day there are 40 incidents involving multiple lorry-loads of waste being illegally dumped. "However, Flycapture is not simply a database for keeping records, it is an enforcement tool that will, and already is, helping us and Local Authorities to target and catch these criminals that have no regard for our health and environment. Using this information we will work together with local authorities on a targeted crackdown in problem areas to beat this problem.

Last year Flycapture helped the Environment Agency and local authorities in London catch, confiscate and crush two trucks responsible for at least 27 separate incidents of fly-tipping at a number of different sites across the capital, costing council tax payers thousands of pounds in clear up costs.

Joint working operations using the vehicle hot-list have already been successful too, encouraging effective link-up between the police, Vehicle and Operations Service Agency (VOSA) and authorities. Indeed, Flycapture will be invaluable to local authorities in their quest to reduce the number of smaller incidents of fly-tipping from fridges and sofas to household waste. Mr Morley added: "Almost 250,000 black bags are left somewhere they shouldn‘‘t be every year, and each one costs £40 to clear away. That‘‘s about £10m that local authorities could be spending on preventing fly-tipping, and improving their neighbourhoods in general. "But it‘‘s not just the monetary cost, it‘‘s the environmental damage that any discarded rubbish can cause, as well as the loss of community pride.

"The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill currently being debated in Parliament will go a long way to help combat fly-tipping, through stiffer penalties and by extending the powers of local authorities and the Environment Agency to deal with offenders.

Flycapture facts

· someone fly-tips in England and Wales every 35 seconds - that equates to over 70,000 incidents a month
· the most common fly-tip is a black bag of household rubbish at the side of a main road
· fly-tipping costs £100 a minu