The Live Wire



Press Release

NEW STEPS TO MAKE BUSINESSES CLEAN UP THEIR ACT

21 July 2006

Businesses that dirty Camden’s streets by not disposing of their waste properly could soon face new penalties to persuade them to clean up their act.

Camden Council will start using a new power, Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs), to encourage more businesses to stay within the law and reduce the amount of illegal rubbish that is dumped on the streets. This will help the council keep the streets cleaner and more attractive. The decision was made by the council’s Executive Environment Sub-Group this week (18 July 2006).

All businesses must arrange for their waste to be disposed of legally and be able to provide the correct documents, when asked by the council, to show that they have done this. Although the majority of businesses take care to get rid of their rubbish properly, some may not be aware of the regulations and others may ‘fly tip’, making the streets less pleasant for everyone else. The council is then faced with cleaning up spilt waste, stained pavements and loose litter scattered around the streets, which costs taxpayers money.

Camden Council will use FPNs as a simpler, cheaper and more effective way of tackling the problem and enforcing the law on commercial waste. It is one of the first powers to be used by the council under the Cleaner Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (2005). Businesses should look out for information and guidance over the summer months to explain the new approach, and the council will start enforcing the FPNs in the autumn. Businesses that continue to break the law could be given a FPN of up to £300. The council believes this will act as an effective deterrent to encourage them to dispose of their waste responsibly in future.

Cllr Mike Greene, Executive Member for Environment, Camden Council said:

“Camden Council is one of the cleanest boroughs in London1 and we want to keep it that way. Using FPNs will help us encourage businesses to act responsibility and deter them from dumping rubbish. Having clean streets makes a huge difference to people who live and work in Camden. This new step means we can take strong and rapid action against the minority of irresponsible businesses that make it more difficult for us to improve our streets. We are going to be looking closely at all the available new legislation to see what other options may be useful to us in keeping Camden’s streets clean for everyone.”

Under the previous system, local authorities prosecuted offenders but this could take a long time and be costly. Under the new system once sufficient evidence is collected, an FPN can be issued - if the business fails to pay it, they can then be taken to court.



Press releases, papers and documents published on this page are the intellectual property of an organisation unrelated to Central Lobby. We promote their parliamentary and political campaigning activities as they are subscribers to the Central Lobby service.

As such, Central Lobby does not edit, endorse, or attempt to balance the opinions expressed on this page. The content of press releases and other such types of content are the responsibility of the originating organisation.

Camden Council

More from Dods

© Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd