Councils send just ONE litter fine per week as campaigners call for more ‘effective’ deterrent

Councils send just ONE litter fine per week: Clean-up campaigners call for more ‘effective’ deterrent to stop people dropping rubbish on the streets as it emerges one in six local authorities issued no penalties in a YEAR

  • Campaigners have called for the £150 on-the-spot fine to be raised to £1,000
  • Councils gave 116,000 fines for littering but 2.3million for parking offences 
  • The London Borough of Hounslow issued the most litter fines with 156 per week

Most councils dish out fewer than one fine a week for littering – with one in six issuing none in a year.

Campaigners say the statistics, revealed through a Freedom of Information request, highlight the need for an ‘effective’ deterrent.

They have called for the £150 on-the-spot fine to be raised to £1,000.

Most councils dish out fewer than one fine a week for littering – with one in six issuing none in a year with campaigners calling for the £150 on-the-spot fine to be raised to £1,000

Action group Clean Up Britain, which submitted the FOI, received replies from 169 councils – more than half of all those in England and Wales. 

Some 56 per cent issued fewer than one litter fine a week and 16 per cent issued no fines at all in 2018-19.

The London Borough of Hounslow issued the most litter fines with 156 per week on average, while Bristol City Council was second with 151 a week.

At the other end of the scale, Harrogate, Stevenage, Bridgend, Derbyshire Dales and South Somerset were among the councils issuing no litter fines while Chorley, Hambleton and West Norfolk issued one. 

In total, the councils handed out 116,000 fines for littering compared to 2.3million for parking offences.

The Great British September Clean, organised by Keep Britain Tidy and backed by the Daily Mail, runs from September 11 to 27 and encourages Britons help tidy up Britain.

John Read, the founder of Clean Up Britain, said: ‘It’s depressing, shameful and embarrassing what a dump this country has become. 

Fines for littering need to be increased to a level which shows the Government – and society generally – will no longer tolerate this antisocial and selfish behaviour.’

Action group Clean Up Britain found that out of 169 councils, 56 per cent issued fewer than one litter fine a week and 16 per cent issued no fines at all in 2018-19

 Action group Clean Up Britain found that out of 169 councils, 56 per cent issued fewer than one litter fine a week and 16 per cent issued no fines at all in 2018-19

The maximum on-the-spot fine for littering increased from £80 to £150 in 2018. 

But Mr Read wants charges to be raised to £1,000 or for offenders to get 100 hours of community litter picking.

Fellow litter group Keep Britain Tidy said: ‘Ultimately we need to urgently move away from our current single-use culture.’ 

A spokesman for the Department for Environment said the Government had ‘no plans’ to increase fines.

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