Higher fines for fly-tipping to be reviewed

The increased fines aimed to deter persistent offenders

Increased fines for people caught fly-tipping are to be reviewed to ensure they are working to cut the amount of waste being dumped.

Higher fines were introduced in Barnsley as part of the council's litter and environmental crime plan launched last year.

The fines for dumping up to six bags of waste remained at £400, but anyone caught fly-tipping more would face a penalty of up to £1,000 under the plan.

The overview and scrutiny committee will review the scheme on 4 February.

The council hoped the higher fines would target "those more likely to fly-tip as a criminal enterprise".

The maximum fine for spraying graffiti also doubled from £100 to £200, as it costs the council at least £200 to remove.

In 2022/23, the authority spent £265,000 on clearing and disposing of litter and fly-tipping.

Officers said the authority's first £1,000 fine was handed down in July and another was issued in September.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, during the 2024/25 financial year, the safer communities team issued 17 littering fines and seven fly-tipping fines, while the enforcement team issued 684 fixed penalties for environmental offences.

In addition, the council has prosecuted 10 fly-tipping and duty of care cases, with more awaiting court dates.

The council said it was looking to identify more environmental "hot spots" - areas where littering and other forms of environmental blight were most evident - and taking a targeted, proactive approach to addressing them.

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