Litter

Report litter

We have a duty to clear litter from public places, such as streets, parks, playgrounds and pedestrian areas.

You can report litter by email to [email protected] or call 01242 262626.

Report a littering offence

Dropping litter (including cigarette ends and chewing gum) is against the law with a maximum penalty of £2,500 in a magistrates' court. If an act of littering is witnessed by a neighbourhood officer, a fixed penalty notice of £500 can be issued immediately (reduced to £225 for early payment).

If you witness the dropping of litter, are happy to provide a statement and the person can be identified (such as the wearing of uniform, working in a shop or going into their property), you can report this to us and we can investigate this.

Similarly, if you witness the dropping of litter from a vehicle, are happy to provide a statement and information in relation to the vehicle registration number then we can investigate further.

So that we can deal with your report as quickly as possible, please make sure you have the following pieces of information to hand before you make your report:

• details of the incident including a description of the individual and item dropped. If it was from a moving vehicle, the vehicle registration number
• the date and time of the incident
• the location of the incident
• any evidence you have such as photos or videos

Report a littering offence

What happens next

A neighbourhood team officer will investigate your report to gain further evidence of the offence.

If the case officer has sufficient evidence, they may issue a fixed penalty notice of £500 to the offender (reduced to £225 for early payment). In some cases, we may consider prosecution which can lead to a maximum penalty of £2,500.

If there is insufficient evidence, we will conduct further investigations to attempt to gain the necessary evidence to issue a fixed penalty notice.

If you need to report an issue to the team please contact 01242 262626 or report an issue online using the links above.

If you need to discuss an existing case please contact 01242 264135 or email [email protected].

Litter picking

View our litter picking pages if you're interested in setting up a litter pick, or joining an existing group.