"If you’re going to do it, you’re going to get caught", Causeway Coast and Glens councillor warns fly tipping culprits
Causeway Coast and Glens Borough councillors have welcomed news that council has handed out 20 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for fly tipping.
In May last year, Causeway Coast and Glens Council adopted powers under the Waste and Contaminated Land Order to enforce two fly tipping offences under Articles 4; the unlawful deposit of waste, and Article 5; the householder’s duty of care in relation to the transfer of waste.
Under these provisions, FPNs can now be issued as an alternative to prosecution, and, at November’s Environmental Services Committee meeting, members were informed council has issued 20 notices since May 2024 – 12 for Article 4 offences at £400 each and eight for Article 5 offences at £300 each.
Alliance Councillor Lee Kane asked Council’s Director of Environmental Services, Aidan Mc Peake, if the notices were given at fly tipping “hotspots” within the borough.
Mr McPeake said the FPNs were usually “reactions to complaints that were received that fly tipping has taken place”.
He added: “They can be sporadic, there’s no particular one place that sees a significant amount of fly tipping over another.
“There are, and used to be, a number of hotspots and we’ve tried to patrol those to pick up any offenders, but obviously they tend to happen in fairly isolated places.
“The fine is certainly a deterrent, and letting people know that we are out, we are collecting evidence and we are prosecuting should help to minimise fly tipping as we go forward.”
Councillor Kane concluded: “I think [the] fixed penalty notices is showing that if you do dump your rubbish at the side of the road instead of dealing with it in the way a responsible citizen is expected to, we are going to find who’s done it and we are going to bring those enforcement powers.
“It’s really important that we get out that message and show that we are enforcing the legislation that is helping to cut down on this.
“We’re not making money from this; it’s about making people aware that if you’re going to do it, you’re going to get caught. So thank you very much to the team for the work on this.”