Residents and businesses who dump their waste in North Herts or dispose of it without undertaking the necessary checks, will face heavier fines after the council gave the green light to increasing fixed penalty notices (FPNs).
The decision to increase FPNs for fly-tipping and household waste duty of care offences to £400 (reduced to £300 if paid within 10 days) was made on 16 March and will come into force today, 1 April. The fine was previously £300, reduced to £200 if paid within 10 days.
The increase is in light of the continued high number of fly-tipping incidents in the district, and the nationwide public perception that the current enforcement framework is not sufficient to deter and punish offenders.
Fly-tipping incidents have tripled in the district over the last 10 years. North Herts Council has been working hard to reduce these figures and saw a reduction in fly-tipping incidents of 9.5% from April 2021 to January 2022 (in comparison to the same period as last year) as a result of both educational and enforcement work. However, the number of reports (1,366) is still significant and a cost to the taxpayer.
Sarah Kingsley, Service Director – Place, said: “As a council we continue to be committed to working with residents and businesses to keep our towns and villages free from the blight of fly-tipping. It’s up to all of us to ensure that we use registered waste disposal operators to remove rubbish, and if you witness any evidence of fly-tipping - report it to the council.
“We work really hard to take action against offenders and our enforcement activity has continued to increase year on year. By increasing the amount of the FPN we hope that any business or individual planning to dump waste on our streets will now think twice and consider the financial consequences of their actions."
North Herts Council is a member of the Hertfordshire Fly-tipping Group* which is in support of the increase being applied across the whole county.
Welcoming the decision to increase FPNs to the maximum allowed under legislation, Duncan Jones, Chair of the Hertfordshire Fly-tipping Group added: “North Herts is one of five districts to recognise the need to take a tougher stance on fly-tipping by increasing FPNs for fly-tipping to the maximum of £400.”
“A number of the remaining districts are also looking at this and will hopefully follow the good example set by North Herts and others. In 2020/21 fly-tipping across the county cost Hertfordshire’s tax payers an estimated £1.57 million. This is public money which is not being spent on more vital services such as those that support the young, the elderly and the more vulnerable in our society.
"It is vitally important that householders and businesses fulfil their obligations under the Duty of Care to ensure any waste they wish to dispose of only get passed to legitimate waste carriers. It takes a few seconds to check the Environment Agency waste carriers database and in addition legitimate operators will be more than happy to confirm their waste carriers licence number. If they can’t or won’t confirm their number, do not use them.”
More information: Fly-tipping
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