Anyone caught illegally dumping waste could soon face an on-the spot penalty of up to £400, the Environment Minister Rory Stewart announced today.
From Monday 9 May local authorities will be given greater powers to tackle the crime by issuing penalty notices of between £150 and £400 to those caught in the act of fly-tipping anything from old fridges or sofas to garden waste or rubble.
Introducing fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping is the latest move in a government crackdown on waste crime, which costs the economy millions of pounds a year in clean-up costs, undermines legitimate business, and poses serious risks to our environment.
Environment Minister Rory Stewart said: "It’s beyond me that anyone feels it’s acceptable to simply dump their waste by the road – whether in our cities or our countryside.
"The new fixed penalty notices will provide local authorities with another tool to crack down on the selfish individuals who blight our neighbourhoods and ruin our beautiful landscape.
"The fines will also act as a deterrent and we will continue to work with local authorities to tackle the root cause of the crime and change the mentality of the few who commit it.
While acting as a deterrent, the fixed penalty notices will also save local authorities time and money in punishing offenders as they will provide a quicker alternative to prosecuting fly-tippers through the courts.
However, prosecutions will remain an option for local authorities in punishing large scale waste criminals.
The introduction of the fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping was a manifesto commitment and comes ahead of the forthcoming launch of our national litter strategy.
CLA Midlands rural surveyor Mark Riches said that with fewer than 2,000 prosecutions for fly-tipping in 2014/15, more effective action is urgently needed.
'Offenders must be dealt with more robustly'
"We receive regular reports from our members of fly tipping, particularly when their land is located on the fringes of urban areas.
"The waste involved is not just the occasional bin bag, but large household items, from unwanted sofas to broken washing machines and building materials.
"The CLA has been calling for offenders to be dealt with more robustly and we welcome this latest tightening in the regulations.
"Fixed penalty notices will not solve the problem, but they are a positive step in tackling an issue which is estimated to cost rural businesses an average of £800 per incident and is a continuing and damaging blight on our countryside."
Mr Riches added that May Bank Holiday often saw an increase in fly-tipping as people started work on their homes and gardens in earnest, with many having no plans for disposal of the rubbish generated.
He urged people in rural areas to be vigilant, and to report fly-tipping incidents to the police, with as much information as possible.
