Countryside Alliance welcome the Government's new steps to tackle littering

The Countryside Alliance welcome Environment Minister Therese Coffey's MP announcement today (Tuesday 24th October) that following a consultation over the summer the government plans to almost double the littering fine from £80 to £150 and introduce new fines for owners of vehicles from which litter is thrown.

The minimum fine will also increase from £50 to £65, while the default fine will increase from £75 to £100. The new fines will come into effect from next April, subject to parliamentary approval. The government is clear however that councils must not abuse the power to impose fines.

The changes are part of the government's wider Litter Strategy, and aim to ensure that those who litter contribute more to the near £800 million a year cost of keeping streets clean.

Environment minister Thérèse Coffey said: "Littering blights our communities, spoils our countryside and taxpayers' money is wasted cleaning it up. Throwing rubbish from a vehicle is just as unacceptable as dropping it in the street and we will tackle this antisocial behaviour by hitting litter louts in the pocket. These new fines will make sure the perpetrators, not the local community, bear the cost of keeping our streets and roads clean."

Sarah Lee, Head of Policy said: "Littering and fly-tipping is a blight in the countryside and has a huge impact on wildlife and landscape. We hope that these tough new measures will go some way to tackling this problem and will help incentivise people to dispose of their rubbish appropriately."