First £500 fine for fly-tipping sends ‘a strong message’
THE first ever £500 fine for flytipping in Renfrewshire has sent a “strong message” to illegal dumpers, it is claimed.
New legislation to impose tougher penalties on perpetrators was introduced by the Scottish Government at the start of this year.
It saw the fine being increased from £200 to £500, with Renfrewshire Council issuing the revised sanction for the first time not long after this.
Councillor Jacqueline Cameron, who represents Johnstone South and Elderslie for the SNP, commended the work of the area’s flytipping task force at a meeting of the infrastructure, land and environment policy board.
“The first £500 fine is great, sending a strong message to flytippers that Renfrewshire Council is looking out for them,” said Councillor Cameron, who is also the local authority’s depute leader.
An updated report written by the council’s environment chief Gordon McNeil provided details of how the first £500 fine in the area was issued.
He stated: “Using captured footage, the first £500 fixed penalty notice was issued in January to a company, based outwith the authority, who flytipped in Paisley.”
Councillor James MacLaren, a Conservative representative for Bishopton, Bridge of Weir and Langbank, said: “I would just like to congratulate the department on issuing their first £500 fixed penalty notice.
“I hope that made a difference and we won’t see that flytipper again and maybe other flytippers can take note of that.”
Figures highlighting the work of the task force confirmed that 11 fines were issued in the first two months of the year.
More than 500 proactive patrols of flytipping hotspots were carried out during January and February, with 48 tonnes of flytipped rubbish removed.
Earlier this month, Councillor Kenny MacLaren, an SNP representative for Paisley Northwest, said the revised fine should be a “warning” for anyone who treats Renfrewshire “like a dump.”
He added: “For some, £500 is nothing to them but increasing it to that in the first instance has been a good step.
“I just wouldn’t stop there.”