Our Environmental Enforcement team may take action against you, if you commit an environmental crime. These offences cover a range of dangerous or antisocial behaviour which harms the safety or quality of life of the community. Typical examples are not disposing of your waste properly, such as fly tipping, littering or allowing your dog to foul public areas or other people's property. In most cases, you will receive a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN), though in more serious cases, we may prosecute you.
Fixed penalty amounts and payment deadlines
Below is a table of the typical fines for different environmental offences. You have 28 days to pay, or we may take you to court. In the case of littering, you can get a reduction in the amount of the fine, if you pay early (within 14 days of the date of issue of your FPN).
| Offence | Full charge | Early payment amount (within 14 days) |
|---|---|---|
| Dropping litter in the street or any place open to the air to which the public have access, or from a vehicle | £200 | £150 |
| Not putting out domestic waste or recycling properly | £60 | N/a |
| Not putting out commercial or industrial waste out properly (EPA section 47) | £110 | N/a |
| Giving household waste to an unlicensed company for disposal | £300 | N/a |
| Failure to produce a waste transfer note for commercial waste | £500 | N/a |
| Fly tipping - bag/sack of domestic or commercial waste left next to a litter bin | £200 | N/a |
| Fly tipping - individual fly tipping of own household waste | £400 | N/a |
| Fly tipping - all other incidents not covered above | £600 | N/a |
| Allowing your dog to foul a street or public space | £200 | N/a |
| Graffiti | £500 | N/a |
| Fly posting | £500 | N/a |
| Unauthorised distribution of literature on designated land | £200 | N/a |
| Failure to comply with a Community Protection Notice issued for an environmental related offence | £100 | N/a |
Before you pay
Before paying the fine on your Fixed Penalty Notice, you will need the following information:
- The reference number of your FPN (the number starts BA18, but may vary in length, and the combination of letters and numbers which follow)
- Your debit or credit card number
How to make your payment
You can pay your fine online using a debit or credit card.
If you disagree with the penalty charge
There is no formal appeal process for Fixed Penalty Notices issued for criminal behaviour, but we will review any case where you disagree with the charge you have received.
You can use our online complaint procedure, or call us on 01225 394041, explaining why you think you have received the Fixed Penalty Notice in error.
If we still believe you have committed an offence, after reviewing all available evidence, we will explain the decision to you.
If you fail to pay the charges
If you still disagree that you have committed an offence, or you fail to pay the fine for another reason, we will refer the case for a formal prosecution via the magistrate’s courts. It will then be up to the court to determine whether or not an you have committed an offence, and whether or not any penalty should be imposed.
If the court decides you still have to pay the fine, there may be extra legal costs to be paid.