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Litter and the Law

In Cardiff, people who commit litter offences are fined an on-the-spot £75 fixed penalty notice. Offences include dropping litter on the floor and putting out black bags on the wrong day for collection (see Rubbish Collection Days).

Littering is a criminal offence carrying a fine of up to £2,500. The average fine is around £95, plus court costs - cases are tried in Magistrates' Courts. The offence is committed under Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Under that Act, litter is classified as literally “any thing”. Therefore, litter can be either small (e.g. chewing gum, cigarette butts and crisp packets), large (e.g. bags of rubbish) or any items scattered around. Don’t forget: food not placed in a litter bin is also classed as litter.

According to a survey commissioned by Keep Wales Tidy, 95% of the Cardiff City Centre contained litter from individuals, such as cigarette butts and wrappers from sweet and crisp packages. Dog mess, drinks cans, chewing gum and fast food packaging were the litter people dislike seeing most.

Don’t get any ideas: you can’t out run the law in your vehicle either. Drivers who throw litter from vehicles can also be prosecuted, as vehicle registration details are taken and the authorities can trace the owner through the DVLA.

Businesses that dump rubbish on pavements (other than for official collection) can be fined for littering and so can householders.

Fly-tipping is also illegal and on conviction the fine may be up to £20,000 or six months imprisonment or both.

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