Litter is described by ENCAMS (the organisation that runs the Keep Britain Tidy campaigns) as "Waste in the wrong place caused by human agency" meaning it is created by you - the public.
People drop litter every minute of every day. The problem is immense and costly. Local councils spend approximately £332 million each year on cleaning the streets of the UK Last year (2006/07) St Edmundsbury Borough Council picked up over 1,678 tonnes of litter from the streets of the borough. That is the equivalent of 1000 average sized family cars.
The offence of leaving litter (section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990) says that if a person drops, throws, deposits or leaves anything so as to cause defacement in a public place, they could be committing a littering offence. It is a crime to drop litter if it happens in a public place. In the St Edmundsbury area, Enforcement Officers may issue on-the-spot fixed penalty notices, with a fine of £80, to anyone observed breaking the law.
Litter is unsightly - litter dropped around the district causes a blight on the landscape. Litter doesn't just disappear! If litter is not picked up, items will take many years to decompose. See below:
- banana skins / fruit peelings - 2 years
- cigarette ends - 2 years
- drinks cans - 80 - 100 years
- plastic bottles - 100+ years
- plastic carrier bags - 100+ years
Don't litter when you're out, make sure you use a litter bin - dropping it on the floor could result in a £80 fine!
If you are an organisation that would like to arrange a litter picking in an area near you, please visit the ENCAMS website http://www.encams.org/uploads/publications/litterorganisingacleanup.pdf(PDF1.4Mb) for more guidance and information on how to organise your litter pick. The council can loan out items such as litter pickers and refuse sacks for your event and will collect the waste when your litter pick is completed. Please phone the Enforcement Officer on 01284 757687 to arrange for the use of these items.
