Litter: Coronavirus

(asked on 13th April 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to discourage littering in (a) tourist and (b) other areas as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased and outdoor socialising increases; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 19th April 2021

We know that people’s health, wellbeing and resilience can be improved by spending time in the natural environment and there has been an encouraging increase in the number of visitors accessing the countryside. We are clear, however, that everyone should follow the recently updated Countryside Code, which is available on gov.uk. A key part of the Government’s strategy is to get clear and consistent messages to the media, which promote better behaviour in the countryside and encourage a partnership response.

We continue to campaign to raise awareness of the impacts of littering.

In response to Covid-19, Defra developed a ‘Respect the Outdoors’ campaign to encourage people to follow the Countryside Code and to highlight the impacts of littering. This has been promoted both online and in locations across the country near to urban parks, beaches and national parks. We also supported, and provided funding for, Keep Britain Tidy’s Love Parks campaign, which encouraged people to treat our parks with respect.

I recently spoke at the launch of Keep Britain Tidy’s 2021 Great British Spring Clean, encouraging everyone to get involved. By doing so, we are setting the tone for the summer ahead, by showing that litter is not acceptable, and that people care deeply about protecting their local environment.

It is an offence to drop litter, and councils have legal powers to take enforcement action against offenders. Anyone caught littering may be prosecuted in a magistrates’ court, which can lead to a criminal record and a fine of up to £2,500 on conviction. Instead of prosecuting, councils may decide to issue a fixed penalty (on-the-spot fine) of between £65 and £150.

To support councils to meet their duties in keeping land clear of litter and refuse and maintaining public bins, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has recently published guidance on the provision of litter bins, available at https://wrap.org.uk/content/binfrastructure-right-bin-right-place.

In support of this guidance, WRAP has recently run a grant competition, funded by Defra, for local authorities in England to apply for grants of between £10,000 and £25,000 to purchase new litter bins. In total, 44 applications were approved, worth almost a million pounds.

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