South Holland District Council hopes new team from Kingdom can help crackdown on rising issue of litter and fly tipping

Lazy litter louts and shameful fly tippers are being warned of a two-pronged crackdown - with the promise of fines for offenders and ‘education’ to deter ‘enviro crimes’ in the first place.

A trio of environmental enforcement officers took to the streets of South Holland last week.

In the sights of this team are offences ranging from litter and fly tipping those who put their bin bags out early.

The district council is confident the contractors - brought in from private firm Kingdom - can help to make a difference. It has signed them up on a cost-free basis, meaning Kingdom’s cash only comes from the fines paid.

Does that mean ticket-happy enforcers will be dishing out fines at a rapid rate so they get more money?

Not according to head of public protection Donna Hall. Her team will keep an eye on the number of fines issues, the payment rate and the prosecutions to try to strike a balance - and they are encouraging the officers, now out and about in branded jackets, to be the front line in the education push to encourage people to tidy up their behaviour.

Yet that does not mean this is a ‘softly softly’ approach - the officers are free to pounce on offences they see.

Donna added: “At the moment they are out there. If they catch somebody deliberately littering they will issue a Fixed Penalty Notice - that’s what they are trained to do.”

Coun Anthony Casson, portfolio holder for public protection, hopes the mere sight of the team can help.

He said: “It’s good for the public to see them, if you see a police car you slow down don’t you?

“I just hope their presence will get the message out that they are about - it’s a warning.”

Fines range from £50 for a swiftly paid litter ticket up to £200 for a slowly settled fly tipping bill. Serious cases before the courts can lead to fines in the thousands - and the council is considering hiking up the fines, with some authorities charging more than £100 for litter offences.

To date, fines have been issued by three council staff - and the authority is keen to stress that these employees remain on the ground.

Donna added: “This is not new. We have been enforcing this with our community wardens - people are already receiving Fixed Penalty Notices. With additional resources we expect to see an increase.”

How many could that be? In Boston, where Kingdom already operates, environmental crime officers dished out 103 fixed penalty notices in February alone - with 65 of those paid to date.

Donna insists there’s no forecast at this stage, adding: “There’s certainly no target or anything like that. We are different to Boston, it will be interesting to see how it goes.”

It’s also not just about tickets - there’s also the longer process of positioning cameras at fly tip hotspots.

The plan is for these to be ‘overt’ - ie visible or signposted - partly to act as a deterrent. If this does not work, there is a longer legal process the council could pursue to deploy hidden cameras to such sites.

In Coun Casson’s Moulton, Weston and Cowbit ward this is a big ‘bugbear’.

He said: “Why can’t they take it down to our excellent tip in West Marsh Road? I know it’s not open every day but very often small fly tips are done at weekends and it’s open Saturday and Sunday. Surely to goodness that would make more sense?”

There’s a social media push to promote all aspects of the campaign - with the prospect of working with schools.

This will also reiterate the need to avoid ‘mispresentation’ of waste - or bin bags out early/wrongly to you and I. This may be harder to tackle - with evidence of who left what, where and when tricky. But it’s a challenge the officers must have on their radar.

The education message comes as the problem gets worse.

Donna believes it’s time to reiterate the ‘basics’, adding: “It’s reminding them that cigarette butts are litter and could result in a fixed penalty notice. It’s about being fair and open and reminding them of their responsibility.”

She added: “It’s about encouraging people to have pride in where live. We are trying to encourage people to care and encouraging reporting too.”

For Coun Casson, he says he is sad and surprised by the amount of litter encountered on his daily walks - he and his wife regularly fill bags of rubbish plucked from the roadside - and is concerned that beer cans on back lanes hint at drink-driving.

Indeed, as we spoke, Coun Casson had a call from someone wanting to know what to do with the 20 bags of rubbish they had collected from the streets.

Maybe the real gauge of success is if his phone - and daily walks - are quieter.

Visit https://www.sholland.gov.uk/reportit to alert the team to a problem. You can also find details of the bulky waste collection at www.sholland.gov.uk or by calling 01775 761161.