PLANS are being considered to outsource the council’s littering enforcement work following the success of a pilot to combat flytipping across the conurbation.

Across 13 months of operating, contractor Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement (WISE) carried out more than 2,200 investigations into flytipping.

This resulted in 365 fines being dished out, with 241 of these being paid to date.

A report to this month’s cabinet meeting will discuss the future plans for enforcement, with the pilot with WISE set to end in March.

The paper by Matthew King, regulation team manager, and Peter Haikin, head of regulation, said the pilot over the past 14 months had delivered a “robust response”.

The officers recommended including enforcement on littering to tackle the “environmental damage” of this behaviour.

It is proposed that the council tenders for a contractor to carry out investigation and the issuing of fines for littering, flytipping and flyposting.

The current arrangement with WISE sees the council receive 10 per cent of the money from recovered fines. In the 14-month pilot period this led to the local authority obtaining £9,053.50 which had been reinvested into the service, funding prosecutions awaiting trial.

It will also fund future printed communications, including signage, posters, leaflets and bin tags, the report said.

As reported, in the 12 months to the end of June the council issued no fines to people who littered the streets, seafront or parks.

The cabinet paper said it had been a “challenge” for the council to provide resources to carry out litter enforcement proactively.

“It is therefore recommended that a similar model to the pilot for fly-tipping should be applied to maximise the benefit of any contractual arrangement and to ensure that there are consequences to offenders in relation to a broader set of environmentally damaging behaviours,” the report said.

Three options are set out in the report:

  • Subsidise a contract for fly-tipping enforcement
  • Tender a contract at cost-neutral to include littering enforcement
  • Revert to in-house service provision

The second option is being recommended by officers, who said: “The council requires a more focused approach to the challenges it faces with many aspects of enviro-crime, and an experienced contractor with existing skills, systems and knowledge can provide a suitable solution that will benefit responsible businesses and residents, while helping to protect the environment.”

WISE’s pilot contract is set to run until March before a new contract, including littering, could commence in time to provide enforcement in the peak summer months.

Councillors are being asked to set littering fine levels at £75 if paid within 14 days and £150 thereafter.

It is forecast that the out-sourced service could see just shy of £300,000 recovered from fines across the enforcement, with the council receiving £52,000. This is based on an agreement that the council receives 17.5 per of total recovered payments, up from the current level of 10 per cent.

The subject is set to be discussed at the place overview and scrutiny committee meeting on November 16 before going to cabinet later in the month.