Report street cleaning problems

The council’s Fly Tipping Task Force has been working with its contractors, Veolia and Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement (WISE), to crack down on fly tipping across Kingston.

Once a report of fly tipping has been made via the council’s website, the details are passed on to WISE’s Waste Enforcement Officers who then visit the scene, gather evidence and then begin an investigation.

The officers have powers granted to them under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to issue fixed penalty notices to individuals and businesses who are believed to have fly tipped or littered in the borough.

• they will introduce themselves and produce an identification card to prove who they are
• they will record all conversations using their body worn camera for transparency
• they will explain why they are talking to you
• they will make you aware of your duty of care when disposing of waste, whether you are an individual or a business owner
• if you are a business owner they may issue you with a Duty of Care Notice which gives you seven days to prove that you have the necessary waste arrangements in place for your business
• if you are a resident, or a business owner, and the Officer has evidence that an offence has been committed, they may issue you with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN)
• the amount of the Fixed Penalty Notice will depend on the severity of offending; either £150 or £400 for fly tipping and £300 if your business doesn't have adequate waste disposal arrangements
• you will have 28 days to pay this via telephone or online. How to pay the penalty is set out on the Fixed Penalty Notice
• you will be provided with a reference number should you wish to contact the council or the contractor directly about the matter.  

Waste Inspection Officers will never:

• use threatening language or behaviour
• ask you to pay a fixed penalty notice immediately or on the spot with cash or card
• ask you to provide your bank account details.

The Waste Enforcement Officers are working hard to identify individuals who spoil the enjoyment of the borough for everyone else. 

Raising Complaints and Concerns

If you are unsure why you have been given a notice or have any questions or concerns about the incident that led to the notice being issued, please raise these first with the contractor directly.

In the first instance, contact our contractor Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement (WISE) by email rbk@wasteenforcement.co.uk or by telephone to 0333 577 2949. You can also log concerns online. 

If your concerns remain after the response from WISE, you can ask the Council to consider your concerns by raising a complaint through the Corporate Complaints Process.

Concerns that have been considered by WISE will be treated as a Stage 1 complaint and investigated through that process. Details of how to raise a complaint are available on our website.

Any concern about the conduct of an officer should also be made through this process in the first instance.