Litter
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Things you should know about litter!
- Littering is a criminal offence; you can be fined up to £2,500, or you may receive a fixed penalty notice.
- The offence is committed under Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
- There is no precise definition of litter. It can mean a small item (e.g. a chocolate wrapper) or larger item (e.g. a bag of rubbish) or items scattered around. Discarded food can be litter. The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 has included cigarette butts and chewing gum as litter.
- The littering offence applies to public open land e.g. roads, pavements, motorways, parks and beaches. Different laws apply to rubbish on private land.
- Drivers who throw litter from vehicles can be prosecuted. Vehicle registration details are taken and the authorities can trace the owner through the DVLA.
- About £342 million a year is spent by local authorities in England on street cleansing and litter clearance.
- We spend approximately £1.1 million to keep the streets of Poole clean.
- During the year 2002 approximately 2891 tonnes of litter were deposited on Poole's streets and open spaces. That is equivalent to 20 kgs of litter or 3 large sacks filling a household bin, discarded by each person in Poole each year.
- That's equivalent to 245 waste disposal lorries full of litter each year.
- If each person in Poole picked up just one piece of litter that would be equivalent to 1.5 tonnes of litter collected each day.
- Fly tipping - being potentially more serious and hazardous than littering is an offence under the waste legislation. On conviction the fine is up to £50,000 or twelve months imprisonment or both.
- Every day RSPCA inspectors rescue pet and wild animals trapped or hurt by litter.
Litter Picks
Environmental & Consumer Protection Services are able to provide volunteers who organise litter picks with gloves, litter pickers, bags, etc. We can also arrange to collect the waste after the litter pick (providing this has taken place on Council land).
The Big Tidy Up
Keep Britain Tidy are promoting an event called The Big Tidy Up. Volunteers are encouraged to organise a litter pick in September 2008. Why not join the Big Tidy Up today and become part of the network of people working together on this project? For further information, to register, and to receive your tidy up kit visit www.thebigtidyup.org
Any litter takes a long time to disappear naturally, degradability depends on climate and circumstances, however estimated time spans are as follows:-
- Plastic bottles - Indefinitely
- Aluminium cans - 80 - 100 years
- Tin cans - 50 years
- Plastic bags - 10-20 years
- Cigarette ends - Up to 2 years
- Fruit - Up to 2 years
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