Councils will have the power to almost double on-the-spot fines
for litter louts from today, Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey
has announced.
The maximum on-the-spot fine for littering and
graffiti almost doubles from £80 to £150. For the first time,
local authorities can also use these littering penalties against
vehicle owners if it can be proved litter was thrown from their
car.
Keeping the country’s streets clean cost local
councils almost £700 million last year. Much of this is avoidable
litter, and money that could be better spent in the
community.
The Government is clear however that councils
must not abuse the power to impose penalties. Councils should
take into account local circumstances, like local ability to pay,
when setting the level for these penalties. Government guidance is available to ensure the
new powers are used in a fair and proportionate way by local
authorities.
Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey
said:
“These new fines will tackle antisocial
behaviour by hitting litter louts in the pocket, whether it’s
litter that is thrown from a vehicle or dropped in the
street.
“Littering is a scourge on our environment
and we waste taxpayers’ money cleaning it up – funds which could
be better spent in the community.
“We want to be the first generation to
leave our environment in a better state than we found it, and I
encourage everyone to take responsibility for their litter and
recycle more.”
Edmund King OBE, president of motoring
organisation the AA said:
“There is no excuse for car litter louts.
Tossing rubbish from vehicles spoils the environment, costs
millions and puts road workers’ lives at risk when they have to
clear up. The majority of our members support higher fines for
littering and we welcome these steps to tackle this unnecessary
problem. It is not difficult for car occupants to bag it and bin
it.
“When AA employees have conducted litter picks
and our members have surveyed local roadside litter, we are
always astonished at the number of plastic bottles, take-away
wrappers and even kitchen sinks discarded at the
roadside.”
The changes to penalties for littering follow a
public consultation as part of the launch of England’s first ever
Litter
Strategy in April 2017 which showed nearly 9 out
of 10 respondents were in favour of increasing fixed penalties
for littering.
These measures come on top of cross government
work to protect the environment. On the same day, Her Majesty’s
Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is implementing an extension to
the landfill tax to cover unauthorised waste sites, showing that
whether people are littering on a small or a large scale the
penalties are high.
Today’s announcement builds on a range of new
measures to tackle waste including banning microbeads, proposals to extend the 5p plastic
bag charge, and plans to introduce a deposit
return scheme for drinks containers. The move builds
on Government’s wider Litter
Strategy for England as well as the recent launch of
the 25 Year
Environment Plan setting out how Government will
protect and enhance our natural environment.
Notes to editors:
-
The full version of the government’s Litter
Strategy is available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/litter-strategy-for-england
-
The maximum on-the-spot fine local authorities
can issue for dropping litter has nearly double, from £80 to
£150. The default penalty has increased from £75 to £100, and
from April 2019 the minimum penalty will increase from £50 to
£65
-
The cost of £682m in 2016/17 for street
cleaning is from Official local Government returns to DCLG:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-capital-expenditure-receipts-and-financing
-
Research on one in five admitting to having
dropped litter in the past is from Keep Britain Tidy - Litter
Droppers Segmentation research (2010)
