Councils
in Wales are now able to issue fines for fly-tipping incidents.
Mike
Hedges AM said… I greatly welcome these new powers for local authorities –
people with waste to dispose of will now be under much greater pressure to
comply with the law and dispose of their waste appropriately. I hope that Local
authorities use these powers to make examples of people to show others that
they face fines etc. if they do not dispose of their waste appropriately. If
people have knowledge of people fly tipping I would urge them to report matters
to the authorities so that action can be taken and fines imposed.
Last week, the National Assembly
for Wales approved the Unauthorised Deposit of Waste
(Fixed Penalties) (Wales) Regulations 2017 (external link).
It followed a public consultation, earlier this year, which revealed
overwhelming support in favour of the new powers.
Local Authorities are now able
to set a fixed penalty amount between £150 and £400,
with a default of £200 where no amount is specified. A reduction for early
payment can be made available and Local Authorities can retain the receipts to
help contribute to the costs of dealing with fly-tipping. The Fixed Penalty
Notices (FPNs) can be applied on both publicly and privately owned land.
The
Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths said:
“Fly-tipping
blights our communities and it damages our environment.
“These
powers will provide Local Authorities with an additional enforcement tool for
small-scale fly-tipping offences where a prosecution is considered
disproportionate.
“I am
sure Local Authorities and communities will welcome these new powers. However,
I feel it is important Local Authorities accompany these new powers with the
appropriate level of public engagement, awareness raising and wider
education programmes. I believe this is essential to ensure a positive response
from the public and a sustainable reduction in offending behaviour”.
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