Under section 32(1A)(a) of the Waste Management Act 1996, it is the responsibility of the original waste producer or other waste holder to have waste collected, or to make appropriate arrangements for treatment, in accordance with the waste hierarchy.
In addition, section 35 of the 1996 Act provides that a local authority may make bye-laws requiring a holder of household waste to present such waste, specifying sorting measures, quantities, location, times and other relevant matters. As such, it is a role of the relevant local authority to regulate the presentation of waste for collection, in alignment with the national, regional and local policy framework, for all categories of dwelling.
Section 3 of the Litter Pollution Act makes it an offence for any person to deposit any substance or object so as to create litter in a public place or in any place that is visible to any extent from a public place. In addition, the section provides that it is an offence to deposit commercial, household, industrial or municipal waste in any place for collection by or on behalf of a local authority or by another person in such circumstances as to create litter or lead to litter in any public place or any place that is visible to any extent from a public place.
Penalties for more serious dumping offences provided for under the Waste Management Acts are substantial. Persons who are found to be responsible for, or involved in, the unauthorised disposal of waste are liable to a maximum fine of €3,000 on summary conviction and/or imprisonment for up to 12 months, and to a maximum fine of €15 million on conviction on indictment and/or imprisonment for up to 10 years.
Following a review of legislation in this area and notwithstanding the significant penalties currently in place, the Government recently approved proposals I brought forward for new legislative provisions to introduce on-the-spot fines for incidences of fly-tipping or small-scale illegal dumping. These new legislative provisions will now be submitted to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for drafting. While I will keep the legislation on this area under review, I currently have no proposals to introduce further legislation empowering private companies to impose fines.
