Council’s £200 fine to tackle fly-tipping
WEST Lancashire Borough Council has taken steps to tackle fly-tippers more quickly by introducing a fine of £200 for the offence.
The council takes a hard line approach to fly-tipping and will take action against the culprits wherever possible.
An amendment to the Environmental Protection Act 1990 which came into force in 2016 allows the council to issue fixed penalty notice fines in relation to the offence of fly-tipping for the first time and the fixed penalty amount has been set at £200 in West Lancashire.
This figure is in line with guidance from the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The council hopes the new fixed penalties will reduce the number of cases that go to court and this will reduce the amount of time spent preparing for court and allow officers to carry out more visible patrols looking for offences.
Fly-tippers who don’t pay the fixed penalty notices will be taken to court.
Each incident of fly-tipping will be viewed on its merits and officers will be encouraged to serve fixed penalty notices where appropriate. However, larger scale incidents, and cases when businesses are deliberately avoiding paying to dispose of their waste, will still warrant formal action through the courts in line with the council’s Enforcement Policy.
Councillor Kevin Wright, portfolio holder for Community Safety, said: “The fly-tipping of waste is a serious offence which creates eyesores on our local landscape. These fixed penalty notice fines are an extra string to the council’s bow as we look to clamp down on this problem.
“So fly-tippers beware! We will work to track you down and make sure you pay for what you have done.”
If you think waste has been disposed of illegally then you can report this to the council 24-hours a day on its website www.westlancs.gov.uk/flytipping. Or you can call 01695 577 177 between 8.30am and 5.30pm Monday to Friday.
The council has reminded all householders that they need to make sure any waste that they have removed is disposed of legally. Anyone removing waste as part of a business must have a waste carriers’ licence and give waste transfer notes to whomever they take waste from. Householders can check if anyone who removes waste from them has a waste carriers’ licence by contacting the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506 or going onto their website www. gov.uk/government/ organisations/environment-agency