Starting from next year, Canterbury residents who are caught dumping rubbish, leaving litter, painting graffiti or handing over their household waste to unlicensed operators will face steeper penalties.
The city council’s Cabinet agreed to raise the fines for these offences at its meeting on Monday 4 December. The new fines will take effect on Monday 1 January 2024 meaning those who litter or graffiti will have to pay a fixed penalty notice (FPN) of £200, up from £150. However they can still get a discount of £100 if they pay within 14 days but those who flytip will have to fork out a whopping £1,000, up from £400. There will be no more early payment option of £300.
Residents who fail to check the credentials of the people they give their household waste to – known as ‘household waste duty of care’ – will be fined £500. They can reduce it to £300 if they pay early.
The city council decided to increase the fines after the government gave councils more power to fight waste crime earlier this year.
The city council chose the highest possible fine for flytipping, but not for littering and graffiti (maximum is £500) and duty of care (maximum is £600).
Cllr Connie Nolan, the cabinet member for enforcement, said:
“We will not tolerate these offences that spoil our environment and cost us money to clean up. We have carefully considered the government’s legislation and we have set the fines at levels that we think are fair and reasonable.
“We have a very active enforcement team and we will not hesitate to take action against those who flytip, litter, graffiti or try to save money by giving their rubbish to dodgy dealers, only to see it end up in a scenic country road.
“Our message is clear: if you don’t want to pay a fine, don’t do the crime.”