Justin Tomlinson MP has welcomed the first ever Litter Strategy for England; designed to reduce discarded rubbish, increase awareness of the effect litter has on the environment and create innovative ways of keeping communities clean.
Litter blights the appearance of our towns and roadsides and spoils our enjoyment of the countryside. The Government wants to send the strongest message that we support those who want a clean local environment and to have pride in where they live and work. In our 2015 Manifesto we set out our ambition to be the first generation to leave the natural environment of England in a better state than we found it. Eliminating litter is an important part of this. A littered environment is bad for people’s wellbeing, the economy and environment.
The Litter Strategy aims to apply best practice in education, enforcement and infrastructure to deliver a substantial reduction in litter and the behaviour associated with it. We want to see demonstrable improvements in the cleanliness of our country and a cultural shift to make littering socially unacceptable. Measures in the new Strategy include:
- Working with Highways England to target the 25 worst litter hotspots across our road network to deliver long-lasting improvements to the roads that are often the gateways to our towns and cities.
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Bringing forward regulations to give councils outside London new powers to fine the registered keeper of a vehicle from which litter is thrown.
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Convening a new expert group to look at further ways of reducing the worst kinds of litter, including plastic bottles and drinks containers, cigarette ends and fast food packaging.
- Consulting on increasing the fixed penalty for littering to £150.
- Recommending that offenders on community sentences, including people caught fly-tipping, help councils clear up litter and fly-tipped waste
- Launching a Litter Innovation Fund to support innovative community-led projects aimed at tackling littering and which could see local success stories turned into national initiatives.
- Issuing new guidance for councils to be able to update the nation’s ‘binfrastructure’ through creative new designs and better distribution of public litter bins, making it easier for people to discard rubbish
- Stopping councils from charging householders for disposal of DIY household waste at civic amenity sites – legally, household waste is supposed to be free to dispose of at such sites – reducing one of the drivers of fly-tipping.
- Creating a ‘green generation’ by educating children to lead the fight against litter through an increased number of Eco-Schools and boosting participation in national clean-up days, such as the Great British Spring Clean
- Committing to a new national anti-littering campaign in 2018, working with industry and the voluntary sector to drive behavior change across the country.
Justin Tomlinson MP said: “Littering is a selfish act which blights our communities and I have actively worked with Keep Britain Tidy to reduce the amount of rubbish discarded on our streets. In launching the first ever national Litter Strategy, the Government has shown it is taking tough action. While there is no magic bullet to end littering, our intention is that the Litter Strategy will deliver real change and its publication signals the start, rather than the end of this process. I am clear that we must act now to clean up the country and change our culture so that it is no longer acceptable to drop litter.”
