Durham cracks down on fly-tipping with increased fines, court actions, and vehicle seizures, yielding positive results.
Another 60 fines went to homeowners. These homeowners did not dispose of waste properly. All those fines added up to a total of £47,190. The council stopped giving discounts for early fine payments. They hope this will further prevent offences.
Plus, 82 offenders had to go to court. The court ordered them to pay £81,278. This amount covers charges and extra fines. More cases are lined up for court soon.
The council completed 412 vehicle checks. They seized 29 vehicles involved in waste crimes. They even caught 198 fly-tippers with cameras. The council has an anti-fly-tipping campaign.
It’s called Operation Stop It. It shares information online through social media. Their Facebook page reached over 3 million people. This happened in 2023 and 2024. These efforts seem to be working well now.
Fly-tipping is down in County Durham. Reported incidents fell a lot since 2021. Incidents went from 8,286 to 5,752 in number.