The maximum amount that people caught fly-tipping could be fined in a fixed-notice penalty has been increased from £400 to £1,000.
On-the-spot fines for those caught littering, doing graffiti and breaching household waste duty of care have also increased, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has said.
The new fines will come into force on July 31, and are part of the government’s efforts to crackdown on anti-social behaviour.
“We’re taking action right across government to crack down on anti-social behaviour and ensure waste criminals face justice – but it’s vital that communities have the tools they need to address the problem as well,” Environment Minister Rebecca Pow commented.
“That’s why we are supporting local authorities by increasing the upper limit for on-the-spot fines and ringfencing the proceeds for clean-up and enforcement operations.”
Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey added: “Everyone loathes litter louts and people who dump rubbish.
“We are increasing the penalties local councils can apply for this behaviour that spoils our streets and harms nature.”
The revenue from the fines will be invested locally in clean up and enforcement. Local authorities will have the freedom to set the rates that offenders pay within the new limits.
According to Defra, councils dealt with almost 1.1 million incidents of fly-tipping in 2021/2022, and issued 91,000 fines.
The government has also said that it will increase transparency of the data on the use of on-the-spot fines, including publishing league tables on fly-tipping to show which local authorities are tasking a “muscular approach”.
