Litter louts could be hit with £150 fines as part of ambitious
new plans to tackle rubbish in England.
Environment Secretary unveiled the Government’s
first Litter Strategy for
England to reduce the near £800m burden to the taxpayer
of clean-up costs.
Under the new measures, the most serious litterers could be hit
with the £150 fines, while vehicle owners could receive penalty
notices when it can be proved litter was thrown from their car –
even if it was discarded by somebody else.
The new motoring rules, which are already in force in London,
make owners liable even if they didn’t throw the litter
themselves.
Environment Secretary said:
Litter is something that affects us all – blighting our
countryside, harming our wildlife, polluting our seas, spoiling
our towns, and giving visitors a poor impression of our
country.
Our litter strategy will tackle this antisocial behaviour by
building an anti-litter culture; making it easier for people to
dispose of rubbish; and hitting litter louts in the pocket.
We want to be the first generation to leave our environment in
a better state than we found it, and tackling litter is an
important part of our drive to make the country a better place
to live and visit.
Further new measures drawn up by environment, transport and
communities departments include:
- Issuing new guidance for councils to be able to update the
nation’s ‘binfrastructure’ through creative new designs and
better distribution of public litter bins, making it easier for
people to discard rubbish.
- Stopping councils from charging householders for disposal of
DIY household waste at civic amenity sites (rubbish dumps) –
legally, household waste is supposed to be free to dispose of at
such sites.
- Recommending that offenders on community sentences, including
people caught fly-tipping, help councils clear up litter and
fly-tipped waste.
- Working with Highways England to target the 25 worst litter
hotspots across our road network to deliver long-lasting
improvements to cleanliness.
- Creating a ‘green generation’ by educating children to lead
the fight against litter through an increased number of
Eco-Schools and boosting participation in national clean-up days.
- Creating a new expert group to look at further ways of
cutting the worst kinds of litter, including plastic bottles and
drinks containers, cigarette ends and fast food packaging.
Communities Minister said:
It’s time we consigned litter louts and fly-tippers to the
scrap heap of history. Through our first ever National Litter
Strategy we plan to do exactly that.
Our plans include targeting the worst litter hotspots, cracking
down on litter louts with increased fines and getting people to
bin their rubbish properly.
For too long a selfish minority have got away with spoiling our
streets. It’s time we sent them a clear message – clean up or
face having to cough up.
Transport Minister said:
Litter on our roads is a major and costly problem to deal with.
It makes our roads look messy, can threaten wildlife and even
increase the risk of flooding by blocking drains.
To combat this needless blight on our landscape, I am working
with Highways England to target the worst 25 litter hotspots on
our road network, on which hundreds of thousands of sacks are
collected every year with the clean-up bill running into
millions of pounds.
By increasing fines and working with local authorities, the
Government is taking decisive action to clean up our
environment.
The strategy also outlines measures to protect seas, oceans and
marine life from pollution. It builds on the success of the 5p
plastic bag charge, which has led to a 40% decrease in bags found
on the beach.
Funding will also be made available to support innovative
community-led projects to tackle litter that could turn local
success stories into national initiatives.
The Government will follow the strategy with a new national
anti-littering campaign in 2018, working with industry and the
voluntary sector to drive behaviour change.
The consultation on the new
enforcement measures officially opens today. Guidance
will then be issued to councils to accompany any new enforcement
powers, to make sure they are targeted at cutting litter, while
preventing over-zealous enforcement or fines being used to raise
revenue.
