Costly fixed penalty for fly-tipping cardboard boxes

A man from Calne who was captured on CCTV fly tipping household waste on Beechfield Road, Devizes, has been issued with a £400 fixed penalty notice (FPN) by Wiltshire Council.

Environmental Enforcement Officers from Wiltshire Council were alerted to the fly tipped waste and were shown CCTV footage of the incident by a local business. They tracked down the man responsible by the vehicle registration number and vehicle insurance details. The man was interviewed under caution and admitted to dumping the waste and apologised for his actions.

The fixed penalty notice (FPN) for fly tipping was introduced in 2016 to allow local authorities in England to issue a £400 fine for small scale fly-tipping offences. Dealing with smaller fly tips by way of a fixed penalty notice avoids long, drawn out prosecutions at significant cost. Once a fixed penalty is issued, the recipients cannot be named as it's not a conviction in court.

Wiltshire Council has recently adopted new powers to issue a fixed penalty notice for householders who give their waste to unlicensed waste collectors. Two of these new FPN's have been issued in recent weeks. The council will utilise this new fixed penalty notice as a more efficient and proportionate response to householders who hand their waste to unlicensed waste collectors. This FPN is set at £400 payable within 14 days but can be reduced to £200 if paid within 10 days. 

Bridget Wayman, Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste said, "Wiltshire Council is committed to the crackdown on waste crimes, like fly-tipping. It costs the taxpayer millions per year in clean-up costs and is a significant blight on our local environment. We would like to thank the two quick witted individuals that captured the details and provided the CCTV footage that led to the culprit being caught".

The council will continue to utilise both types of fixed penalty notices and its powers to prosecute more serious offences, to clamp down on those responsible for this unlawful and serious crime.

Wiltshire Council is committed to the crackdown on waste crimes, like fly-tipping. It costs the taxpayer millions per year in clean-up costs and is a significant blight on our local environment