Litter Removal Laws (councils and litter abatement orders)
The law says that if you drop litter, the council (or police) can fine you, as it’s a criminal offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, either with a fixed penalty notice (from £100 to £500) with more for vehicle littering. If not paid, you can get a maximum fine of £2500 and a criminal record.
Just like vehicle parking offences, some councils will reduce the fine for early payment. Note that offences include dropping cigarette butts, chewing gum, food wrappers and throwing litter from a vehicle:
- If you smoke, buy a cheap personal ashtray, which automatically extinguishes cigarettes until you find a bin – also prevents fires and wildfires.
- If you chew gum, get a gum bin (personal or wall-based for offices, schools etc). This gum is then sent off to be recycled into industrial goods like piping).
- If you drive, invest in a car trash bag, to keep litter with you until you get home. Throwing it out the window leads to birds and wildlife getting killed (and further wildlife killed for scavenging on their dead bodies).
One farmer wants fast food receipts to include vehicle registrations. So if people throw the packaging out the window on the way home, they get a fine in the post, just like for speeding.
So what’s gone wrong? England is so smothered in litter that American writer Bill Bryson is appalled, saying he just can’t believe how people who live here, let it get this way.
There are many inventions (like big colourful bins with slogans) to help prevent street litter. Alas our government is delaying deposit return schemes (where people get money for returning cans and bottles), because it wants to not include glass (even though European mainland countries have been including glass for years in deposit return schemes).
The litter-clean up campaign CleanUp UK (which lends out equipment for volunteer litter clean-ups) wants National Highways to stop mowing grass verges (which only they can do) before cleaning up litter, at present they are spraying glass and plastic fragments everywhere beforehand.
Nearly all litter dropped (now and that which has been languishing on streets and clogging up rivers for years) is made up of the same few items:
- Cigarette butts (the world’s most littered item)
- Sweet and chocolate wrappers and crisp packets
- Drinks containers (plastic bottles, cans and coffee cups)
The BBC reports that nearly all our litter comes from 10 brands:
- 3 alcohol brands (does not say which)
- Coca-Cola and Red Bull
- Cadbury
- McDonald’s
- Walker’s crisps
- Lucozade bottles (many people have found bottles from the 70s in bushes)
- Tesco packaging (often their Express stores don’t have litter bins outside)
Which begs the question – why aren’t councils doing their job? They have paid staff to pick up litter, and even people on community service, who pick it up for free.
The answer is always that there is not a big enough budget (there is enough budget for any council to place a few bins everywhere, empty them regularly and employ people to pick up litter).
The other excuse is the ‘not my responsibility’. That’s also where councils are wrong.
Report Litter on Public Land
No matter who dropped it, it’s the council’s responsibility to clear it up on public land (that’s why you pay council tax). If you see any litter, report it at Fix My Street (with photos if possible). If enough people make these public complaints, usually something is done (they are sent direct to councils and you get updates – or not).
What about Litter on Private Land?
If litter is on private land, councils again can serve a Litter Abatement Order, and issue a fine if it’s not cleared. If the fine is not paid or the litter not cleared, the council can employ people to clean it up, and issue an invoice to the landowner.
Who’s Responsible for Clearing Illegal Waste Dumps?
We’ve all seen the awful illegal waste dumps on TV, where companies dump millions of tons of illegal waste, that then fester and ruin the lives of local people.
Obviously it’s really on the part of the people who dumped it to clear it up. But they are not going to, as firstly they have not been found. And even if they were, they wouldn’t clear it up.
But the same rules apply. It’s thought that there are now hundreds of illegal dump sites in England. These are not only illegal and cause stenches and health concerns, but are also fire hazards (tyres for instance are a fire hazard if dumped, which is why they should always be recycled).
What is Illegal Dumping?
Also called fly-tipping, it’s the dumping of liquid or solid commercial waste on public or private land, instead of taking it to the recycling centre, or paying companies to recycle it. Classified as environmental crime, you can report it (which includes illegal fishing) at Crimestoppers (anonymous).
It’s estimated that around 38 million tons of waste are illegally dumped annually, with penalties ranging from fines of £400 to up to 5 years in prison. Common items dumped range from everyday household items (mattresses, furniture, black bags of rubbish) to construction, demolition, commercial and toxic waste.
A Waste Dump (partly owned by Duchy of Lancaster)
A recent Channel 4 investigation expressed concern over one dump in Wigan. The landowner went bust, so the land automatically went to the Duchy of Lancaster, a vast estate owned by King Charles III.
When he inherited the land, the King said that profits would be used to help communities and sustainability. Yet so far has refused to pay to clean the waste up. Lawyers are now trying to give the land back to the council. So yes, you, the taxpayer would be responsible for clearing it up.
The site contains 25,000 tonnes of rubbish next to homes (who say it’s hell living next door due to the stench) including primary schools. One mother had rats in her roof, and has had to adopt one son (with health issues) out to relatives, who can’t return until the dump is cleared.
Due to feudal laws, the Duchy of Lancaster does have to do like anyone else.
But again considering King Charles stated that private profits (no inheritance or corporation tax is paid) would be used to help communities, a quick cheque could solve everything for local people, the environment and wildlife (which the king says he is so passionate about).
The estimated cost to clear the Wigan dump would be around £4.5 million, yet the Duchy of Lancaster income is around £27.4 million a year.
