Households face £400 fines in crackdown on fly-tipping

HOUSEHOLDERS whose waste ends up being fly-tipped or illegally dumped could be fined £400 under Government plans.

Currently councils can only prosecute them in court, but ministers say a fixed penalty notice would be less costly to enforce and more proportionate.

Officials could also be given new powers to close off access to fly-tipping sites. The Environment Agency will for the first time be able to padlock the gates which lead to illegal dumps.

Environment minister Therese Coffey said ‘waste crime’ cost the English economy more than £600million in 2015, including lost landfill tax revenues and clean-up costs. It also creates problems for those who live or work nearby with odour, vermin, pollution and fires.

Waste criminals are also guilty of undercutting genuine businesses that dispose of rubbish responsibly.

Miss Coffey said: ‘Waste crime and flytipping blight our communities and spoil our countryside, and we need determined action to tackle it. These new powers will curb the rise of waste sites that operate outside the law. But we must all take responsibility for our waste to make sure it does not end up in the hands of criminals who dump it.’

A consultation will now be conducted on the proposals. Plans to tackle crime and poor performance by rogue operators in the waste sector are also being considered. These include raising the bar for permits to dispose of waste.