An anti-litter campaigner is hoping increased fines for fly-tipping and other offences in Ipswich will lead to more enforcement officers patrolling the streets.
Ipswich Borough Council will soon review its penalties for environmental offences, including littering, fly-tipping and incorrect disposal of household waste.
Fines for littering may increase from £80 to £150, while penalties for fly-tipping could rise from £300 to £500.
Jason Alexander, who organises litter picks in Ipswich and wider Suffolk, said: "I think raising the fines for littering and fly-tipping will only have an impact if those laws are enforced.
"It’s great the council is looking into this issue, but there's no point in raising the limit if people feel that they're not likely to get caught.
"It doesn't matter how high the council makes the fines if they don’t have the resources to catch the people.
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"There are only a few enforcement officers for such a massive area, and I feel sorry for them. They've got such a huge task with such a limited budget."
In the last 12 months, from June 2022 to June 2023, Ipswich council issued 14 fines for littering.
Four of the cases are still open, six were paid and four were referred for prosecution.
There were also 29 fines served for fly-tipping, with five of them still open.
Nineteen of the penalties were paid, and five were referred for prosecution.
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Mr Alexander added: "If we think about the thousands and thousands of pieces of litter that are dropped every day, and there were only a few fines issued, it doesn't matter how high they are if there is little or no chance of those people being caught.
"Increasing fines is great, but only when we back it up with adequate budgets for the enforcement officers."
The campaigner added that he does not envisage a big improvement in the littering issue in Ipswich and around Suffolk.
He added: "We have little wins here and there, but littering is still a growing problem, and we need to try and address it.
"We also need to continue with awareness campaigns and education, particularly with kids."
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