We are increasing our fixed penalty amounts for dropping litter and fly tipping as we get tough on environmental crime.

From 1 September 2022, people who drop litter such as cigarette butts or sweet wrappers will receive a £150 fixed penalty notice (£100 if paid within 10 days), an increase of £85 and fly tipping fixed penalty amounts will increase from £200 to £400 (£300 if paid within 10 days). Fixed penalty notices issued for failing to clear up after a dog will remain the same at £100.

Cabinet Member for the Environment, Councillor Deborah Watson said, “Local people and visitors want our streets, parks, trails and public spaces to be safe and attractive places that they can enjoy, not places where they have to step over dog mess or avoid because of litter.

“Littering and fly tipping makes the place look a mess, it’s harmful to wildlife and the environment, and it costs a fortune for us to clean up, that’s why we are increasing the fines to act as a deterrent to would-be-offenders.”

We spend £330k every year keeping our streets clean, emptying litter bins, removing fly-tipping and graffiti.

Analysis of the fixed penalty notice fee showed that our charges are one of the lowest rates in the area. The reason we have decided to raise these penalty charges is not however to create a source of income, but rather to act as a deterrent, as Councillor Watson would sooner people use the bins or recycling centres provided to dispose of their waste.

“We don’t want to issue fixed penalties to people,” said Councillor Watson. “We would much sooner they take a little bit of care and attention, think of others and either take the rubbish home or use one of the 684 litter and dog bins we provide across the District.”

There are no changes to fixed penalties issued for breach of the Public Space Protection Orders, abandoned vehicles, failure to comply with duty of care or transporting waste without authority.

For a full list of the changes to the fixed penalty amounts please visit our litter pages.