New rules have come into force ringfencing the money raised from fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping to be spent on community clean-up and enforcement, announced by Defra.

The department stated that the funds, described as ‘paid by criminals’, will be directly allocated to fixing damages caused by waste crimes or enhancing enforcement efforts to prevent reoccurrences.

Defra recycling minister Robbie Moore said: “Litter louts and career waste criminals need to know we are cracking down hard.”

The measures, introduced alongside other initiatives, aim to encourage councils to adopt a more robust approach to litter and fly-tipping enforcement, Defra said.

In the financial year 2022/23, councils addressed 1.08mil fly-tipping incidents and issued 69,000 fixed penalty notices, among other enforcement actions.

However, the lack of coverage for incidents on private land was highlighted by the CLA, which described them as 'blighting' rural areas.

CLA president Victoria Vyvyan welcomed the new regulations, stating: “Fixed penalty notice receipts must be used to help clear up incidents on both public and private land.”

Additionally, these changes expand existing measures empowering local authorities with various tools to combat fly-tipping.

Councils can administer on-the-spot fines to offenders and have the authority to halt, search, and seize vehicles suspected of involvement in fly-tipping.

The upper limit of these fines was raised to £1,000 in July 2023.