St Albans City & District Council has issued 41 fines for fly-tipping so far this year.

The local authority's environmental health officers have investigated 154 incidents of fly-tipping in 2023, with 27 per cent of them leading to fixed penalty notices (FPNs) being issued.

According to the council, this number is a "significant increase" on the same period last year, when just seven were handed out.

St Albans City & District Council believe that professional companies are responsible for "a substantial proportion of illegal rubbish dumps in the district".

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The local authority has confirmed that the fly-tipping waste has often contained commercial waste from construction sites and property clearances.

The council also believes that efforts have been made to ensure that no material could lead to those responsible.

As a result of these incidents, mobile CCTV cameras have been installed in fly-tipping hot spots, and patrols have been taking place.

Incidents of fly-tips containing garden waste have reduced by 42 per cent, since a charge was introduced for green bin collections last year (2022).

Cllr Lynn Cunningham said: "Fly-tipping is an eyesore, a potential health hazard and a criminal act. I also know that it has been one of our residents’ major concerns.

“We have been working hard with partner organisations, including the police and Herts Waste Aware, to both deter fly-tipping and to bring offenders to justice.

“I’m delighted to hear that we are enjoying considerable success with the number of offenders that have been traced and fined having increased sharply.

“We are continuing with our initiatives, such as the use of mobile CCTV cameras, to deal with fly-tipping and will not get complacent despite the advances we have made.

“I was also pleased to see that garden waste fly-tips have fallen quite dramatically. Those who feared the garden waste charge would result in an increase have been proven wrong.”

Further information regarding fly-tipping in the St Albans District can be found online at www.stalbans.gov.uk/fly-tipping.