New environmental enforcement officers taking to the streets marks the final stage in Liverpool City Council’s three-step plan to address illegal littering, fly-tipping and dog fouling.
Consultations with residents have shown that these issues were among their main everyday concerns. In response, the Council has set out three new measures to tackle them.
Introducing Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement (WISE) to operate across Liverpool is the third of those measures to be carried out.
A new team of enforcement officers started work this week to help prevent environmental crimes and issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) to anyone caught offending.
Increasing FPNs was one of the new measures rolled out by the Council to address residents’ concerns.
From June this year, litterers face a £150 penalty, while those caught dog fouling will be ordered to pay £100. A tiered penalty system has been introduced for fly-tipping, which starts at £500 and can rise depending on severity.
The WISE officers will support the work being done by the Council’s internal Environmental Crime Enforcement team. Establishing the team, which has now been operating for over a year, was the Council’s first act to tackle illicit waste.
Just last month, the team issued 45 FPNs for illegally disposed of waste, including a £1000 penalty for a significant amount of fly-tipping from one individual. They also engaged with over 250 business and residents about the correct way to dispose of waste.
They will now get additional support from WISE, which already works with 31 local authorities and in such major cities as Manchester and Birmingham.
To ensure high standards and a close working partnership, WISE and the Council will have regular meetings to review the service quality and mitigate any identified risks.
The Council has not set any FPN targets for either the internal or external teams, with the priority instead being to encourage behaviour change.
These steps form part of the Council’s Recycling and Waste Strategy, which is designed to promote positive waste behaviours, increase recycling and make waste collection more energy-efficient.
Councillor Laura Robertson-Collins, Cabinet Member for Communities, Neighbourhoods and Streetscene said: “Introducing more environmental enforcement officers means that we can commit even more time and resources to tackling environmental crimes.
“Our goal is to help promote positive behaviour and show people who don’t respect our city that it will not go unseen.
“We aren’t trying to catch anyone making an honest mistake – instead, we want to take action against people who are deliberately messing up our streets.
“People come from far and wide to see our beautiful city. For them, and most importantly for the people who live and work here every day, we’re doing everything we can to keep the city clean and tidy.”
John Dunne, Managing Director of WISE said: “WISE delivers a wide range of environmental investigations and enforcement services across the UK and has consistently contributed to the reduction of environmental crime and the cost of cleansing associated with it.
“Our core objective is to support Liverpool in achieving long-term improvements in local environmental quality by targeting problem areas using an ‘intelligence-led’ approach. This includes the use of geo-fencing technology and responding directly to feedback and complaints from residents.
“We will employ a firm but proportionate methodology to address environmental offences, underpinned by the use of body-worn cameras and mobile technology to verify offender details and issue fixed penalty notices efficiently and lawfully.
“Our officers are committed to engaging positively with local communities to promote inclusive participation in protecting and enhancing the environment across the City of Liverpool.”