READING Borough Council fined under 400 fly-tippers last year, with fines ranging from £51 to £1,000.
The figures follow a report from the Local Government Association (LGA) which revealed offenders are being fined an average of £335 in 2020/21.
The LGA has called for higher fines to be introduced to punish offenders and deter others.
It has also suggested that courts should consider suspended sentences and locking up repeat offenders.
Following the report, a spokesperson for Reading Borough Council said it takes fly-tipping seriously and is continuing to work on tackling the problem.
“A committed and dedicated Recycling and Enforcement team was set up in November 2019 to increase activity and action taken against fly-tipping,” they said.
“It is the council’s intention that investigations into fly-tipping will lead to a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) of £400 or prosecution, the maximum court penalty for fly-tipping is an unlimited fine and/or a 5-year custodial sentence.
“The Council has invested the money from FPNs in its own CCTV surveillance cameras around areas most susceptible to fly-tipping and the footage has helped issue a number of fixed penalty notices and act as a deterrent.
“CCTV allows council officers to identify fly-tippers who are depositing waste from a vehicle, at any time of the day or night, where evidence may not have been found onsite.
“We are always looking at how we can increase the number of CCTV cameras in use and continually looking at new and innovative ways to tackle fly-tipping.”
The waste team has also undertaken activities to inform residents of the correct way to get rid of excess or bulky waste.
The council’s free bulky waste collection service was launched in May, in part to dissuade people from fly-tipping.
People can book a collection every six months, for a range of items, including bikes, cookers, tables tumble dryers and more.
The council also supports and works with community efforts to collect bulky waste in areas with fly- tipping issues such as the annual Baker Street Area Neighbourhood Association Clean Up and other initiatives.
The spokesperson added: “If residents witness any fly-tipping activity we would encourage them to report the incident to ensure action can be taken.
“Fly-tipping can be reported to Reading Borough Council via the contact centre, the website or the Love Clean Reading app.”
And the council had a number of locations where waste can be recycled or disposed of, including recycling banks, glass banks and the Smallmead recycling centre.
The LGA says that nationally, clearing up fly-tipping costs councils more than more than £50 million a year, with councils in England dealing with with 1.13 million fly-tipping incidents in 2020/21, an increase of 16 per cent from the 980,000 reported in 2019/20.
The LGA represents more than 350 councils across England and Wales.
Bulky waste slots can be booked at: http://www.reading.gov.uk/bulkywaste
