It is an offence under section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for a person to throw down, drop or otherwise deposit any litter on public land.
Local authorities across England and Wales are responsible for enforcing this legislation. Many authorities contract litter enforcement to private companies, which is not without its problems.
It is an unfortunate fact that some people consider littering a trivial offence, when in reality it costs the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds to clear up every year (£632m in 2016/17 according to official DCLG data). That money could be far better spent on other public services. Litter is unsightly, unhygienic, harmful to the environment and, at its worst, poses a risk to public health.
From 1st April 2018 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.
A fixed penalty is issued as an alternative to formal prosecution. If the (alleged) offender fails to pay the local authority will often commence proceedings in the Magistrates' Court. Instead of taking a cost-effective, pragmatic approach to complaint resolution, some local authorities will use the Magistrates' Court as the arbiter in any dispute about the circumstances of the fixed penalty notice.
In theory a fixed penalty notice should only be issued if the offender is seen deliberately depositing litter and walking away from it. In practice the shrewd judgement and common sense of privately employed litter enforcement officers is sometimes clouded by the need to hit targets and generate revenue. You occasionally hear tales of people being prosecuted after their umbrella blows away in gale force wind and similar such nonsense.
Environment Minister Dr 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.
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