Kentish Express Ashford & District
Litter crackdown is paying off
£75 on-the-spot fines raise £62,000 in council scheme’s first four months
Chappell Tens of thousands of pounds have been made from fines issued to litter droppers during the first four months of the borough’s new crackdown.
Ashford Borough Council (ABC) and their litter enforcement patrol partners, the private company Kingdom , have already made more than £62,000 between them since the scheme started in September.
Between Wednesday, September 7 and Tuesday, December 20, officers issued 1,113 fixed penalty notices.
Kingdom wardens can issue the £75 on-the-spot fine to people caught deliberately dropping litter or not clearing up after their pets.
Of the 1,113 notices issued, 835 of them have been paid off, as some of the fines had only been issued in the last few days of the selected period.
This means that the council and Kingdom have already raked in a staggering £62,625 between them, with more cash on the way from the fines that are yet to be paid.
In the first three days of the crackdown alone, wardens patrolling the key areas handed out 113 fines.
The council take £28.50 from each fine while Kingdom takes £46.50.
The fixed penalty notices do not carry a reduction in cost for an early payment.
ABC launched the 12-month trial scheme with Kingdom to tackle issues of littering across the borough.
The Environmental Protection Act 1990 rules that leaving litter is an offence, and this was extended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.
Local authorities can issue fixed penalty notices under Section 88 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
While there are no formal appeal grounds for fixed penalty notices, cases can be heard in a magistrates’ court, but this can lead to a maximum penalty of £2,500 being imposed.
None of the fixed penalty notices issued between September and December were taken through the court process.
When the scheme was first introduced, the council insisted the campaign was not about making money, but to stop littering, and if any profits were made they will be put into supporting other environmental projects such as additional dog warden patrols and equipment for litter education and enforcement campaigns.