More than 70 UK councils failed to issue single fine for littering last year | Waste

Numerous councils across the UK have effectively stopped enforcing littering fines, while others are giving litterers a light hand and many more are neglecting to enforce fly tipping fines.

According to data from the Clean Up Britain campaign, at least 71 councils did not issue a single fine for littering last year, while 67 councils issued fewer than 10 fines.

John Read, founder of Clean Up Britain, said: “There is eco-anarchy in large parts of the country. Anyone can throw away litter with impunity and without fear of being caught or convicted.”

Imposing fines on those who litter would not only help stem the rising tide of litter but could also be a source of revenue for cash-strapped councils, according to Read, who revealed the data through requests to councils under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act.

Littering fines amounted to less than £48 million in nearly 200,000 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued last year, while fines for parking offenses reached £867 million for the 300 councils that responded.

Litter is a serious problem in the UK. Campaign organization Keep Britain Tidy found last year that: Only nine out of 100 places visited in England during the research were litter-free.

“The only sustainable and effective solution to the UK’s litter epidemic is behavioral change,” Read said. “Many people only change their behavior if they have a real fear of being caught and severely punished. This is one of the reasons why Clean Up Britain is lobbying for fines to be increased from £500 to £1,000. Littering is a crime that degrades our environment and the whole society is forced to put up with it.”

Littering is an offense under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and is punishable in court by a fine of up to £2,500, but in England it is usually punishable by a fixed penalty notice of up to £500. Only 77 of the 301 councils that responded to Clean Up Britain’s demands issued more than 100 FPNs for littering in 2024-25.

The average fine issued was £192, with Labour-controlled councils issuing 77% of all fines; According to Read, the 10 councils that handed out the most fines were all controlled by the Labor Party.

Fly tipping is a separate offense for littering on private or public land or roads, and councils can issue FPNs of £1,000 for incidents without recourse to the courts. Government data released last month showed the fly-tipping rate was at a record high. But last year, 77,000 people were caught flying while answering councils’ questions, but only 26,000 were issued FPNs and only half of them were paid, according to research by Clean Up Britain. As a result, councils only collected around £8.5 million, with lost income of around £9.3 million.

According to FoI responses, around 30 councils failed to issue any FPNs for fly tipping and only one in around 100 prosecutions for fly tipping resulted in a prison sentence.

The government also urgently needs to review sentencing guidelines for fly tipping, according to the Local Government Association, as separate research has found that offenders tried through the courts are getting away with lighter sentences than those that councils can impose directly.

Based on analysis of the latest government data, the average court fine for fly-tipping is £539, £87 lower than the average FPN council fine of £626 for the same offence, according to the LGA. The LGA said this gap in sentencing undermined deterrence, weakened enforcement and left councils out of pocket following time-consuming and costly investigations.

According to the LGA, fly tipping councils in England cost more than £19.3 million a year to clean up, with 1.26 million incidents recorded in 2024-25.

The LGA uncovered a case in York where two offenders were fined £300 by magistrates for waste offenses, despite being issued FPNs of £600 and £1,000. In Wiltshire, a fly tipper who failed to pay a £1,000 FPN was fined £80 when the case went to court. In Chelmsford, two offenders were each fined £300, the lesser of the £400 FPN they received, after being tried for fly tipping.

Arooj Shah, Labor councilor for Oldham and chair of the LGA neighborhoods committee, said sentencing guidelines failed to reflect the seriousness of illegal dumping. “Fly tipping is criminal activity that disrupts communities and costs taxpayers millions of pounds each year,” he said. “Councils work hard to investigate and prosecute offenders, but when court fines are lower than fixed penalties, this undermines enforcement and fails to act as a deterrent.”

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “We’re giving authorities the tools they need to tackle waste crime. Digital waste monitoring will close loopholes exploited by criminals, drones will catch criminals in the act and councils have the power to crush their vans, making it increasingly difficult for criminals to hide. Our new legal guidance will also help local authorities make better use of their legal powers, including on-site regulation to tackle littering. Fines of up to £500.”

The government also Plans to give powers to local environmental officers It’s like the police to crack down on waste criminals.