LITTER bugs in the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area will face stiffer fixed penalties as from now.
The Scottish Government has announced that from today (1st April) the current £50 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for litter and fly tipping will be increased to £80 for litter and quadrupled to £200 for fly tipping.
It will roll out a national campaign to raise awareness of the changes from May 2014.
Leading environmental charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful, has responded in support of these changes but says that more needs to be done.
Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Clean Up Scotland campaign aims to eradicate the litter problems that blight our communities. It is currently working to engage one million people across Scotland to get together to Clean Up and green up local areas.
Carole Noble, Head of Environmental Services at Keep Scotland Beautiful said, “We welcome this move to increase current maximum fines for irresponsible disposal of litter and fly-tipping.
"The anti-social litter problem is blighting our communities and needs tackled head on, particularly in 2014 when we welcome many visitors from around the world to enjoy global sporting and cultural events in Scotland.
“The Clean Up Scotland Campaign demonstrates the increased demand for stronger action on litter with more communities taking responsibility and coming together to clean up and improve the environmental quality of their local areas.
“However increasing fines form only part of the solution, we also need to create the emphasis on education and service provision so that responsible disposal of litter and waste is accessible to everyone."
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