Fly-tippers will face harsher penalties after Buckinghamshire Council increased its fines.

Those caught fly-tipping in the county will be slapped with higher penalties following a council decision.

The new fines come after the government increased the maximum Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for fly-tipping from £400 to £1,000. The penalty for failure in householder duty of care was also raised from £400 to a maximum of £600, relating to those who have their waste removed by a third-party waste carrier.

The council’s cabinet member for climate change and environment Gareth Williams said: “Where previously we have only been able to impose a Fixed Penalty Notice of £400, we can now increase that figure to £1,000.

“That is a lot of money to most people, and we hope it will act as a greater deterrent against fly-tipping. This further illustrates our zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping in Buckinghamshire.”

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Buckinghamshire Council’s cabinet voted on Tuesday, December 12 to amend its policies to reflect the changes to give it powers to enforce the highest rate for FPNs against law breakers.

The Fixed Penalty Notice is used for smaller scale offences, and paying one up means avoiding court proceedings and a criminal record.

However, the council will always seek to impose the maximum penalty where possible. For larger scale and more serious offences the defendant can be summoned to court where the fines are set by magistrates and can result in custodial sentences and costs rising to thousands of pounds, the council warned.

Gareth continued: “I would urge all householders to fully check the credentials of any waste carrier they employ to dispose of waste on their behalf. The best way to do this is to use a traceable method of payment for the service and never, ever pay cash.

“Make sure you use a waste carrier properly registered with the Environment Agency and pay traceably online – if that isn’t an option, find a different waste carrier.

“Rogue waste carriers almost always want cash, and if they take an online payment, it is much easier for us to detect them and seek to prosecute. If the waste is found dumped illegally and we are unable to trace the carrier, the householder may be found liable and be forced to pay an FPN or go to court.”

In the past year, the council’s fly-tipping enforcement team has dealt with 68 cases generating more than £55,000 in court prosecution fines and fixed penalties.

To date since 2003, a total of 868 convictions has resulted in £1.4 million in court fines and fixed penalties.