Business could face fines of up to £50,000 for leaving waste and packaging on the street with new regulations set to be introduced in the new year.

Wandsworth Council is set to extend new waste collection rules, previously only enforced in town centre, to St John’s Hill in Battersea, preventing rubbish from being left on the street.

Under the scheme waste is collected at two hour time bands between 9am to 11am and 9pm to 11pm only.

Any business that places waste material on the highway outside of these time windows will be guilty of a flytip offence and could be fined.

Cabinet member for environment Councilor Jonathan Cook said: “Until now businesses in St John’s Hill have been able to leave out their waste and packaging for large parts of the day. Sacks and boxes left out at nine in the morning might not have been picked up by their contractors until nine at night.

“Under the new system this refuse will have to be removed within a maximum timescale of two hours. If the bags and boxes are not taken away by their contractors for whatever reason, the businesses will have to bring them back inside their premises and wait for the next time band.”

Since 2010, the time band scheme has been operating in main town centres.

Fines for businesses start at £110, rising to £220 if not paid within 28 days. A council spokesman said fines at the top end of the scale are only handed out in extreme circumstances where hazardous or chemical waste has been dumped.

In addition to the time band scheme, a new initiative will be introduced under which these businesses will be required to use coloured binliners so that they can be clearly identified as commercial waste.

This is to avoid commercial waste being picked up by refuse collectors paid for by tax-payers.