Motorists have been issued a stern warning that they could face a hefty £1,000 fine or even have their vehicle confiscated if they are caught fly-tipping. The Government was questioned in Parliament about whether it had considered any revisions to the penalties for the offence.
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs minister, Mary Creagh, responded by saying: “We have committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess they have created. This will build on the sanctions already available which include fixed penalty notices of up to £1,000, seizing of vehicles and prosecution which can lead to a significant fine, a community sentence or even imprisonment.”
Ms Creagh also noted that the decision on how to prosecute fly-tippers is up to the courts. When asked about potential additional sanctions, she stated: “We do not intend to carry out any further assessment of criminal sanctions for fly tipping.”
The maximum fixed penalty notice for fly-tipping was raised in July 2023, increasing from £400 to £1,000. However, penalties can be much larger than this for bigger fly-tips, with fines reaching up to £50,000 or imprisonment for up to 12 months if sentenced at a Magistrates’ Court, reports The Express.
For more severe instances before a Crown Court, offenders could face unlimited fines and up to five years in prison. Incidents of fly-tipping can be reported on the Government website.
Ms Creagh also said in her reply: “We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers, and we are considering if further guidance is needed.” Individuals can face fines up to £600 for failing to properly dispose of waste.
The amount of the fine can vary by local authority, and there may be an option to pay a reduced fee if settled within a specified timeframe. In the 2022/2023 financial year, England saw a decrease in fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping, with 69,000 issued compared to 91,000 the previous year.
There were 1.08 million incidents reported, approximately 60% of which involved household waste. Highways were the most common sites for fly-tipping, where rubbish is left on pavements or roads.
Of the total incidents, 42,000 were significant enough to be classified as ‘tipper lorry load’ size. This cost local authorities £13.2 million to clean up.
Baroness Warsi, former Conservative Party chairwoman, has recently advocated that penalties for fly-tipping should be tougher, including the possibility of adding points to offenders’ driving licences. Speaking to ITV, she said: “If we have a sense of national pride, if we want to have some sense of belonging in this country that we all share, then we have to have a national strategy on rubbish and fly-tipping. It cannot go on like this.”
She proposed a novel idea where drive-through fast food outlets could print car registration numbers on bags. This would make it easier to identify litterers if their rubbish is found discarded on the roadside.