More than 600 fines for littering and fly-tipping given out in Walsall over the last year

Members of Walsall Council’s cabinet are expected to approve the new maximum fines for offenders when they meet next Wednesday.

This means anyone caught dropping litter in the borough could face a penalty of up to £500 while fly-tipping could see a maximum £1,000 fine dished out.

Failure to adhere to the household duty of care – ensuring people employed to take away waste are authorised – will also incur a maximum charge of £500.

In some cases, such as when offenders pay quickly within an immediate period of time, discounts are given.

A report to members shows that a total of 631 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) had been issued since January 2023.

Of the 609 FPNs handed out for litter, a total of 115 have not been paid to date whereas only one of the 22 fly-tipping fines is yet to be paid.

So far, seven of the people have been prosecuted for littering while another 10 are awaiting a court hearing.

The outstanding fly-tipper will be reported to the authority’s legal services for a court hearing.

The report said: “It is well documented that dealing with littering and fly-tipping places a significant burden on local councils, money which could be invested in other local services.

“Indeed, locally it is reported that dealing with such deposits costs Walsall Council an estimated £500,000 and the cost to communities in terms of feelings of dissatisfaction, feeling unsafe or environmental decline are less easy to quantify but no less significant.

“It is felt appropriate to raise the levels of the relevant fixed penalty notices to the statutory maximum as a deterrent to those who would casually litter or fly-tip and also to suitably punish those who deliberately litter or fly-tip for financial or some other gain.

“The council reserves the right to prosecute where the littering or fly-tipping is of such a callous, malicious or substantial level that a fixed penalty notice may not be sufficient punishment in its own right.

“The current cost of living crisis has put strain on many people financially and a careful balance ought to be weighed between the desire to appropriately punish people for committing offences and the genuine ability of those people to pay.

“There is concern that by raising the level to a much higher level that payment rates will fall to a lower level which could create additional burdens on enforcement staff and legal services by increasing the amount of prosecution and therefore court work required.

“This is in no way saying that those who litter or fly-tip are being ‘let off’ by allowing a discounted payment but is a pragmatic approach balancing punishment against efficient use of resource.”