Local councils to issue £300 fines to households under new measures to tackle fly-tipping

New powers allowing local councils to issue fixed penalty notices to help prevent household waste being illegally dumped will come into force tomorrow.

More than 60 per cent of fly-tipped waste comes from households who have failed to check who they passed their waste to for disposal.

Under the waste duty of care, householders are required to ensure that waste produced on their property is transferred to an authorised person for disposal and can be prosecuted if they do not.

But local authorities across Wales have said taking someone to court is not always the most appropriate response for this type of offence and can take a great deal of time and effort.

Yesterday 41 to 2 Assembly Members backed a motion to introduce new regulations to allow local authorities in Wales and Natural Resources Wales to issue fixed penalty notices for household waste duty of care offences.

The regulations have set the fixed penalty at £300 and enforcing authorities have the discretion to offer the option of an early payment of £150.

By using fixed penalties this will allow local authorities to have a more efficient enforcement system and this not only frees up much needed resources but it can also help act as an effective deterrent.

Councils can then retain the receipts to help contribute towards the costs of dealing with waste crime. They will still have the option to exercise their existing criminal prosecution powers for offences they believe require a fixed penalty.

Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government Hannah Blythyn said: “We know that over 60% of fly-tipped waste comes from households. However, often people in these households haven’t fly-tipped the waste themselves, but they have failed to carefully check who they passed their waste to for disposal.

“We all have a responsibility to prevent our waste from getting into the wrong hands, and these regulations will provide councils and Natural Resources Wales with alternative way of tackling the issue.

“We consulted widely on these proposals and received widespread support. Local authorities who responded asked for a consistent, national approach to setting penalties and for the level of the penalty to be proportionate to the offence.

“However, we recognise that not all householders will be aware of their duty of care responsibilities and so we are developing a campaign to help people to understand their obligations.’’

Commenting on the introduction of fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping in Wales, Shadow Minister for the Environment, Andrew RT Davies AM, said: “This is a welcome step as fly-tipping is a huge cost to the Welsh taxpater, blights the areas it occurs in, and poses substantial risks to the environment and human health.

“There will be concerns in some quarters regarding the level of fine which is being proposed, particularly as legitimately disposing of some materials can in some cases cost significantly more than the deterrent being proposed.

“Enforcement will be crucial in tackling this scourge, but with the hollowing out of local government and Natural Resources Wales by the Labour Government in Cardiff Bay, there is some doubt that there is enough boots on the ground to enforce these penalties.

“Nevertheless, this is a step in the right direction and we await to see whether this successfully tackles the fly-tipping epidemic in Wales.”