Littering
Dropping and leaving litter is an offence. An expensive one. Getting caught means risking a fine of £150, and those who don’t get caught are still paying for it because clearing it costs Southend Council Tax payers over £2 million every year. So either way you lose out.
And there are simply no excuses, if there isn’t a bin nearby then please take your litter home with you. ‘Careful littering’ when items are left carefully on a wall, next to street furniture, or at a bus stop for example, is still littering. With one in four (that’s potentially over 45,000 of people in Southend alone) carefully littering on a regular basis. And with over 6 million visitors to Southend per year, there is a huge potential for litter to be dropped in our City.
And the scale of littering can be breath taking in a single day during a busy summer weekend we collect up to 20 tonnes of litter along the sea front alone.
So remember, please dispose of your litter responsibly. Anyone seen dropping litter could be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice of £150. By paying the Fixed Penalty Notice a criminal record is avoided, but non-payment means the case will go to court. The maximum Court fine for littering is £2,500.
Our Environmental Care Officers will team up with the Police to challenge people who litter and issue a Fixed Penalty Notice where necessary.
Littering means dropping anything in any place (including over water) that is open to the air and to which the public have access. Cigarette butts and chewing gum are counted as litter as well as other items commonly dropped such as sweet wrappers and drinks bottles.
Anyone seen dropping litter could be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice of £150. If you pay the Fixed Penalty Notice you will not receive a criminal record, but if you do not pay the Fixed Penalty Notice, the case will go to court. The maximum Court fine for littering is £2,500.
Did you know your litter can kill?
Visit the RSPCA website for more information on litter and animals.