In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

there is a maximum fine of £2,500 for persistent littering. Different local authorities also have the powers to impose on-the-spot fines to those caught littering. These are generally under £100.

Cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

butts constitute the majority of litter in terms of the number of items, but contribute to a small proportion of the overall litter volume. Small

plastic bottles A plastic bottle is a bottle constructed from high-density or low density plastic. Plastic bottles are typically used to store liquids such as water, soft drinks, motor oil, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo, milk, and ink. The size ranges from v ...

and non-alcoholic drink cans account for a significant portion of the litter volume, but are a smaller proportion of the item count.

Legal

Cases are heard in the Magistrates' Court. Approximately 400 people in the UK were prosecuted in 2003 by the police for littering. Alternatively, in some areas offenders could receive a £80 fixed penalty fine for littering from the local authority litter warden. The offence of leaving litter (section 87 of the

Environmental Protection Act 1990 The Environmental Protection Act 1990 ( initialism: EPA) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that defines, within England and Wales and Scotland, the fundamental structure and authority for waste management and control of emissions ...

) says that if a person drops, throws deposits or leaves anything so as to cause defacement in a public place, they could be committing a littering offence. The same applies to litter thrown from cars. Police officers or litter wardens are empowered and trained to deal with offenders. It is also possible for the public to report information about littering incidents to the police, the local authority or a litter warden, who would then decide whether or not they wish to proceed any further. Whilst it is possible to take out a private prosecution, it would be at a person's own expense, and strong evidence would be needed in court to secure a conviction. In 2018, data released through Freedom of Information requests showed that fewer than half of all fixed penalty notices issued by Scottish councils were paid.

Campaigns

Keep Britain Tidy Keep Britain Tidy is a UK-based independent environmental charity. The organisation campaigns to reduce litter, improve local places and prevent waste. It has offices in Wigan and London. History Keep Britain Tidy was originally set up by a conf ...

is a campaign run by the Keep Britain Tidy environmental charity. The

Royal Mail rubber band A Royal Mail rubber band is a small red elastic loop used by the postal delivery service in the United Kingdom. In the course of its work, the Royal Mail consumes nearly one billion rubber bands per year to tie together bundles of letters at so ...

s, used during mail delivery, have been the topic of recurring media focus.

References

External links

LitterAction
Environmental issues in the United Kingdom

Litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. Litter can also be used as a verb; to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, ...

* {{UK-stub

Legal

Campaigns

See also

References

External links