Litter
Allerdale
Borough Council has powers to take action against litter offenders,
using the Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005.
On the street litter bins page, you
can find information about council-provided litter bins,
including an electronic form to inform us of any overflowing
bins. Electronic forms are also
available for reporting other litter and street
cleansing issues including dog
fouling, dead animals and
fly tipping.
Litter and fly tipping enforcement
Allerdale Borough Council's Environmental Wardens have a range
of powers relating to littering offences.
What is litter?
There is no legal definition of litter. Littering is
defined by the offence of dropping or leaving litter rather than by
the item that is left. As a guideline, litter includes items that
are improperly discarded and left by members of the public or are
spilt during business operations. Items the size of a single
plastic sack of rubbish would usually be considered fly tipping
rather than litter.
What are the litter laws?
Under the Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act
2005 authorised officers can issue fixed penalty fines of £75, with
14 days to pay, to anyone caught dropping litter. This amount
may be discounted to £60 if paid within 10 days. Litter includes
smoking-related litter.
Failure to pay a fixed penalty will result in
action being taken in the Magistrates' Court with a maximum fine of
£2,500.
Litterbug video
If you are unable to view or hear the Litterbug video,
the transcript is available to view on the video transcripts page.