Crackdown to beat scourge of fly-tipping
FLY-TIPPERS in Halton will have to cough up £400 if caught. The executive board have been asked to give the green light for the Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) to be set at that level as part of new powers.
It would reduce to £300 if paid within 10 days.
A report prepared for a meeting showed that fly-tipping in the borough has increased recently with 602 incidents in 2013-14 jumping to 724 in 201415 and 904 in 2015-16.
Figures for between April and December 2016 showed that there had been 723 fly-tipping incidents in Runcorn and Widnes.
The Appleton ward in Widnes had the greatest number over the period with 583 incidents, while the Mersey ward in Runcorn boasted 440 fly-tipping reports from April 2013 to December 2016.
Along with the Riverside ward, the report said that the areas suffering the most fly-tipping incidents is due to ongoing and increasing problems experienced in terraced property areas caused by householders dumping waste in rear entries.
Efforts made by council officers to curb fly-tipping includes investigating all reported incidents, working closely with housing associations, running campaigns in areas experiencing high levels of the problem, and joint patrols with the police.
The report said: “Householders who fly-tip waste have a complete disregard for the impact that their actions will have upon their neighbours or their local environment and do so due to lazi- ● ness and the attitude that ‘someone else will clear it up’.
“Unscrupulous operators that fly-tip waste do so because it provides the opportunity for financial gain from the avoidance of having to pay waste disposal fees.
“Setting the FPN level at the highest possible amount allowable under legislation is intended to send out a strong ● message that fly-tipping in Halton will not be tolerated and that any individual committing such an offence will face the maximum permitted financial sanction.”