Litter

Litter is anything as small as chewing gum or a cigarette butt up to a single bin bag of rubbish.

Fly-tipping is anything over a single bin bag of rubbish.

Report fly-tipping online, all reports are dealt with in the strictest of confidence.

It is an offence to drop, deposit or leave litter under Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (CNEA) 2005 anywhere within Eden unless you have the permission of the land owner.

We will take enforcement action against people who litter by issuing a £100 fixed penalty notice. If this isn't paid, a magistrates' court can impose a fine of up to £2,500. The Police also have powers to issue a fixed penalty notice to people who litter.

What can I do about litter?

If you see someone littering you can report this online to the Environmental Enforcement Officers. We will need as much information about the incident to ensure successful enforcement action. The type of details we require are:

• The name and address of the person that littered;
• When and where it happened;
• What was dropped.

If you witness a driver throw litter from a vehicle please provide the vehicle registration and a brief description of the driver and what you witnessed. Examples of litter may be take-away rubbish or a cigarette butt. If you can provide dash-cam footage an Officer will explain to you how to send it to us. Please securely store this on a hard drive so the images are not accidentally lost.

Residents in Eden can reduce the litter caused by kerbside recycling by ensuring the green bags are not put out early, and they are secured and stored properly. If it is windy collect any items that have been blown out of the bags and on to the pavement.

Litter is unsightly and can cause serious environmental problems. If the litter is not collected it can take many years to decompose and be a health risk to children and animals. According to Keep Britain Tidy some items of litter can take many years to biodegrade:

• A paper bag- up to one month;
• Orange peel and banana skin- up to two years;
• Cigarette butts- up to 12 years;
• A plastic bag- up to 20 years;
• Plastic bottles- up to 450 years;
• Chewing gum does not biodegrade.

Removing litter

Litter picks

You could organise a litter pick in your area if you have concerns about litter in your neighbourhood, we can help you organise one.

Reporting a litter problem

Report a street cleaning problem online.

Litter bins

Please don't litter when you're out. Use a litter bin, if there aren't any litter bins, take your litter home with you. Education is key, so encourage children to always use a litter bin.

Report a problem with a litter bin we need to know if they need emptying.