Coventry council can now fine fly-tippers £400 - even if it wasn't you who dumped the rubbish

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Coventry council can now fine fly-tippers £400 - even if it wasn't you who dumped the rubbish

Postby dutchman » Sat Jan 12, 2019 9:32 pm

It means householders now have a legal ‘duty of care’ to ensure they only give their waste to a licensed carrier

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Coventry residents now face being hit with £400 fines if their waste is found fly-tipped – even if they didn’t dump it.

As of this week (Monday, January 7), new government legislation has come into into force giving councils extra powers to crack down on fly-tipping.

It means householders now have a legal ‘duty of care’ to ensure they only give their waste to a licensed carrier.

Any householder who fails to pass their waste to a licensed carrier, and whose waste is found fly-tipped, could now face penalties of up to £400.

The new on-the-spot penalties will make it easier for councils to tackle fly-tipping and provide an alternative to the previous method of putting cases through the courts, which can be a lengthy and costly process.

Craig Hickin, head of environmental services at Coventry City Council, said: “We are very interested in the new powers and seeing how they can be used to help us deal with the issue of fly-tipping.

“Until now, we have only had powers enabling us to make businesses accountable by making them prove how they dispose of their waste legally. Now these new powers will make that apply to everyone.

“People will now have a ‘duty of care’ to ensure that waste is disposed of properly and within the law.

“Like businesses, if their waste ends up being fly-tipped, then they will need to prove to us that they used authorised waste contractors.

“If they are unable to do this to our satisfaction, then they will receive a fixed penalty, or prosecution for not exercising this ‘duty of care’.

“We will soon be making sure that everyone is aware of these new responsibilities through a publicity campaign so residents will know how to avoid falling foul of the new law.”

Councils have been issued guidance from the government on how to use their new powers proportionately, which makes clear penalties should not be used as a means of raising money and should not be issued for minor breaches.

This guidance also says that local authorities should consider whether the householder is a vulnerable person, for instance due to age related ill-health or a mental or physical disability.

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Re: Coventry council can now fine fly-tippers £400 - even if it wasn't you who dumped the rubbish

Postby rebbonk » Sun Jan 13, 2019 11:33 am

I have a feeling this new 'power' will be misused.
Of course it'll fit; you just need a bigger hammer.
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Re: Coventry council can now fine fly-tippers £400 - even if it wasn't you who dumped the rubbish

Postby dutchman » Tue Jan 15, 2019 6:06 pm

The bulky waste postcode lottery in Coventry

New data has revealed the West Midlands is the fourth most expensive region for residents to get rid of bulky waste.

In Coventry, it will cost you £30 to have five items picked up by the council - £6 per item.

But in neighbouring Birmingham, residents pay just over £3.80 for one item to be removed.

In Coventry, the council's bulky waste collection service is available to all residents.

The first time you call out the service it will cost you £30 and the team can collect five items - £6 per item.

There is a £5 charge for any additional items you want to be taken away.

A maximum of 10 items can be picked up by the council at a time.

If you are a pensioner, or on benefits, you can get a £5 discount, so five items will be collected for £25 instead of £30.

We pay an average of £9.20 for bigger items that can't fit in our bins to be taken away by the council.

In Birmingham, people pay less than Coventry for bulky waste collection.

There you can get six items picked up for £23 (just over £3.80 per item) when booked online, or £25 over the telephone.

But in Warwick, you'd pay a lot more.

There it costs £35 to have up to three items removed (just over £11.60 per item if you have three collected), and £45 for four to five items (£9 if you have five items picked up).

In the North East, the average cost is £5.40.

In neighbouring Leicester, the council is one of just 15 out of the 326 across England to offer free collections.

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Re: Coventry council can now fine fly-tippers £400 - even if it wasn't you who dumped the rubbish

Postby Jock Strapp » Wed Jan 16, 2019 11:51 am

Next time a 'Man with a van' collects my rubbish I will make doubly sure that my address is not within the rubbish. Simple.
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