Report a problem with littering

Litter laws

It is a criminal offence to deposit litter of any description on the street or anywhere in the open air. Litter includes small items such as cigarette ends (Sec 87 Environmental Protection Act 1990). The maximum penalty for depositing litter is a fine of £2,500 upon conviction. A fixed penalty notice offers a person the opportunity to discharge any liability for that offence by payment of a fixed penalty. Non-payment of a litter fixed penalty notice may lead to the person being taken to court for the original offence of depositing litter.

Fixed penalty notices for littering

We have a policy of zero tolerance on littering. This means anyone caught littering on a first occasion will receive a £150 fixed penalty notice, however this will be reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days.

There is no appeal process for fixed penalty notices. Those not paying within 14 days will be prosecuted for the offence and, if convicted may receive a fine of up to £2,500.

Persons caught littering on more than one occasion will not be given an opportunity to pay a further fixed penalty but will be prosecuted for the offence of depositing litter.

Cigarette littering

Smokers need to put their stubbed-out cigarette ends in a suitable container such as a bin or a personal anti-litter pouch. Anyone caught throwing a cigarette butt on the ground will receive a £150 fixed penalty notice, however this will be reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days.

Businesses have an important part to play

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 allows local authorities to serve Street Litter Control Notices on owners of certain businesses where there are regular accumulations of litter outside the premises, including cigarette litter. A Street Litter Control Notice places a legal duty on these businesses to keep the street outside their premises clean and may be served where businesses fail to clean up on a voluntary basis.

We have installed a number of cigarette disposal units in the town centres but businesses can assist greatly by installing their own cigarette disposal units, encouraging staff to dispose of their litter in a responsible way and informing them of the possible consequences if they drop it on the street.

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Report littering on a street

Report littering in a park

Report littering in a car park