Fly-tipping fines to more than double to 拢500 to tackle litter across Scotland

An action plan has been published, detailing specific actions and interventions to be progressed by the Scottish government and its partners and agencies in the first year.

Jenness Mitchell

Scotland reporter

Wednesday 28 June 2023 12:20, UK

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Fines for fly-tipping will be more than doubled to 拢500 as part of a range of new measures to tackle litter across Scotland.

A new six-year National Litter and Flytipping Strategy aims to ensure safer and cleaner communities and will help support the country's circular economy.

The strategy sets out how national and local government, business, the third sector, communities and individuals can work together to "drive behaviour change, improve infrastructure and strengthen enforcement".

An action plan has been published, detailing specific actions and interventions to be progressed by the Scottish government and its partners and agencies in the first year.

Key measures include:

Fines for fly-tipping to be more than doubled to 拢500.
Introduction of new powers to impose a fine on the registered keeper of a vehicle from which a littering offence is committed.
A new national online litter hub to provide information, advice and support to community groups and other relevant local organisations on tackling litter and littering behaviour.
Dedicated support for private landowners, including funding for trials to help deter and deal with fly-tipping affecting their land.
Increased action to detect and disrupt fly-tippers, especially unregistered waste carriers advertising online, such as proactive engagement with online platforms and dedicated SEPA activity to tackle rogue operators.

Lorna Slater, minister for green skills, circular economy and biodiversity, said: "Scotland is a beautiful country and we all have a responsibility to keep it that way.

"This government makes no apologies for taking bold action on tackling litter and fly-tipping, which is a blight on our streets, communities and countryside, as well as threatening our natural environment and wildlife."

The strategy has been developed in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland, Keep Scotland Beautiful and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

Ms Slater added: "This strategy will drive further change in behaviours and the delivery of services. Enforcement is a key theme, and the strategy sets out robust commitments, including raising fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping to £500 and considering increasing fines further if required.

"It is part of a wider package of measures to tackle Scotland's throwaway culture, including becoming the first nation in the UK to ban some of the most problematic single-use plastics, a commitment to introduce a charge on single-use cups, the introduction of a deposit return scheme, and reform of extended producer responsibility for packaging."

In England and Wales, under the 1990 Environmental Protection Act, those found guilty in a Crown Court of unlawfully depositing waste can face up to five years imprisonment, or an unlimited fine, or both.

Local authorities in England and Wales can also issue fixed penalty notices of between £150 to £400 for small-scale fly-tipping.

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