Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN)

Fixed Penalty Notice

A Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) is a penalty payment for committing an environmental crime, this can be littering, fly tipping or failing to comply with a request to supply documents, for example and these offences and FPN amounts are listed below. Our authorised officers (from WISE or Council Officers) are issuing fixed penalty notices to individuals and businesses caught committing environmental crimes either at the time or subsequent following receipt of information or following an investigation outcome. Once the FPN is paid, this stops the penalty from progressing to a registered fine or conviction in the Magistrates’ Courts.

Our officers are able to use Body Worn Cameras, which will only be switched on when approaching people to issue fines and record conversations.

It is also an offence to refuse to provide your name and address when required to do so for such offences, or provide a false or inaccurate name or address. Such offences may be prosecuted and lead to a registered fine or conviction in the Magistrates’ Courts in addition to any other offence.

Environmental crimes that can receive an FPN and amounts

From the 1 January 2024 the following table of Fixed penalty Notice amounts will apply

Offence	Further reference	Adopted full penalty (£) within 14 days^1	Adopted discounted penalty (£) (If paid within the discounted period of 10 days ) ^2
Littering	6A)(b) of section 88 (fixed penalty notices for leaving litter) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990	150	80
Graffiti FPN under s43 ASB Act 2003	The offence of causing graffiti	150	80
Fly posting under s43 ASB Act 2003	The offence of fly posting	150	80
Unauthorised distribution of free literature on designated land	7(4)(b) of Schedule 3A (free distribution of printed matter on designated land)	No areas are designated	No areas are designated
Nuisance parking/repairing on the road	s3, s4, s6 Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005	100	60
Abandoned Vehicles	Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978, section 2,2A	200	120
Fly-tipping	Section 33(1)(a): EPA Depositing, knowingly causing or knowingly permitting the deposit of controlled waste or extractive waste on land without, or other than in accordance with, an environmental permit. See 33ZA9 for fpn amount	Upper offence 500 Lower offence 400 * A section 87 offence (Littering FPN s88) may be offered in very low level cases	Upper offence 250 Lower offence 200 * A section 87 offence (Littering FPN s88) may be offered in very low level cases
Household duty of care, failure to pass your waste on to a licenced carrier	section 34(2A) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (householder duty) see also 34ZA.Fixed penalty notices	Upper offence 400 Lower offence 300	Upper offence 200 Lower offence 150
Failure to produce a waste transfer note	Section 34(5) and 34(6): Failure to comply with a section 34(5) notice to furnish transfer notes. (Business) see also 34AFixed penalty notices for certain offences under section 34	400	200
Industrial and commercial waste receptacles offences	47ZB(2)(a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 ,failure to comply with any requirements imposed under subsection (2) or (4).	110	80
Failing to show waste documents to transport waste	Section 5(7)(a):Failure, without reasonable excuse, to produce evidence of carrier , Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989	300	150
Littering from vehicles	Depositing litter from Vehicle, The Littering From Vehicles Outside London (Keepers: Civil Penalties) Regulations 2018, S4	150 (increases to 300 if not paid 28 days	80 if paid in 14 days
Dog Fouling (or related PSPO Offences)	Failure to comply with a restriction or requirement of a PSPO, Rushcliffe Council PSPO	100	75
Community Protection Notice FPN	Failure to comply with a CPN Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, s43,s52,	100	100
Domestic waste receptacle offences FPN	Failure to remove domestic bins from the highway S46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990	100	75

^1 see 11.L4 of Code of practice for litter and refuse: Part 1A - effective enforcement

^2 see 11.L6 of Code of practice for litter and refuse: Part 1A - effective enforcement

Littering: Dropping litter anywhere is an offence. Litter is everything from food packaging to cigarette butts and chewing gum. It can also include feeding birds.

Dog fouling (PSPO): If your dog fouls in a public place and you fail to pick it up it, it is an offence.

Dog fouling means of pick up (PSPO): If you fail to show when requested a means of picking up (for dog faeces) when in control of a dog in a public place, this is an offence

Dogs not on lead (PSPO): If you allow your dog to be off a lead in an area designated that it must be on a lead, you commit an offence, or if requested to place your dog on a lead by a police officer or an authorised officer.

Dogs prohibited (PSPO): If you allow your dog to enter a dogs prohibited area such as a children's' fenced park you commit an offence

Urinating: It is an offence under various legislation to urinate on public surfaces, roads, pavements or streets and may be treated as littering when acted upon by the Council.

Flyposting: It is an offence to display advertising material on buildings and street furniture without the consent of the owner. We will remove any fly posting on the highway and issue an FPN for offences or prosecute in serious cases.

Fly-tipping: Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of waste. It can vary in scale significantly, from a bin bag of rubbish, to larger bulky waste items being dumped, such as mattresses or white goods. You may be prosecuted for fly tipping but an FPN may be offered in certain circumstances.

Domestic duty of care: Where fly-tipped waste or waste in the hands of a non registered waste holder is traced back to an individual who is found to have failed to take reasonable steps to ensure that they transferred the waste to an authorised person. An FPN can be offered in place of a prosecution.

Commercial waste duty of care: Businesses have a duty of care to ensure their waste is removed by a licensed waste carrier. If we suspect a business is not dealing with its waste responsibly, we can issue a notice requiring the production of waste transfer documents. Failure to produce the documents results in the issue of a fine.

How to pay a fine

FPN issued by WISE, Waste Investigations Support & Enforcement Officer

If you have been issued a Fixed Penalty Notice by Environmental Crime Officer employed by WISE and you wish to discharge you liability from prosecution by making payment. Please make payment using the following methods. You will need to make payment using the fixed penalty notice number which can be found at the top of the issued notice.

Online: Pay online using a debit or credit card

By Telephone: Pay over the phone using a debit or credit card by 0330 333 4382 and follow the instructions for making payment.

Failure to pay the fixed penalty after 14 days may result in legal proceedings being instituted against you for the offence.

If you wish to speak with a member of the WISE Operational Support Team regarding a payment or making a representation, please call 0333 577 2949.

Representations

It is important to note that all representation must be made in writing using the below methods.

Online: Notice Payments

Email: rbc@wasteenforcement.co.uk

Post: Unit 53555, PO Box 6945, London, W1A 6US

Failing to pay the fine may make you liable to conviction for the offence.

If you have been issued an FPN by Rushcliffe Borough Council directly you can make payment as follows:

Address for payment and correspondence

Rushcliffe Borough Council

Rushcliffe Arena

Rugby Road

West Bridgford

Nottingham

NG2 7YG

Payment by credit or debit card

Contact Rushcliffe Community Contact Centre: 0115 981 9911 (check our current opening hours)

Payment by BACS

Sort code: 40-35-19

Account number: 01245562

Account name: Rushcliffe Borough Council General Account

Please quote reference 1125 2111 and send a remittance or email to finance@rushcliffe.gov.uk

Payment by cheque

The payment slip with the FPN must accompany your payment.

Please make cheques payable to Rushcliffe Borough Council and send to the above address.

Appealing an FPN

There are no formal grounds of appeal against an FPN. It is an invitation for you to discharge your liability to prosecution. In essence, this means that whilst this is not an admission of your guilt and by paying the sum of money specified, no further action will be taken by, or on behalf of the Council.

If you have any mitigating circumstances regarding the FPN you received, please email environmentalhealth@rushcliffe.gov.uk

Failing to pay an FPN

If you do not pay the FPN within 14 days from the date of issue, we will send you a Final Warning Letter to remind you that the payment is overdue. The Final Warning Letter gives you a further 7 days to pay the FPN. If you still do not pay within 7 days after the date of the Final Warning Letter, the case will be referred for prosecution at a Magistrate’s Court.

The Council will prosecute unpaid FPNs

Please be aware that we are taking a 'no nonsense' approach to environmental crime and will prosecute defendants who do not pay their FPNs.

The legal powers that enable Rushcliffe Borough Council to issue FPNs

The Council has powers from a number of area including:

Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (2005)

Environmental Protection Act (1990)

Anti-Social Behaviour, Cime and Policing Act (2014)

Environment Act (1995)

Code of practice on litter and refuse .Gov web page

Part 1a Enforcement Guidance pdf

How the money from FPNs will be used

The costs of educating, undertaking waste clearance, investigations into offences etc vastly exceeds any income from FPN's. Any income from FPN’s will go to support this ongoing service delivery to maintain a clean environment and tackle criminals and their behaviour and polluters of the environment.

Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN)