Litter is unsightly, potentially dangerous and, above all, unnecessary.
Our Street Care teams are responsible for litter clearance through 245 square miles of the Borough.
Discarded food waste attracts rats, and other pests 
and encourages feral pigeons. Piles of sweet wrappers, crisp packets and fast food containers pose a serious fire risk. Animals are regularly injured or killed by litter. Farm animals choke on plastic bags, birds get tangled up in fishing lines, and small mammals are trapped in bottles and cans. People throwing rubbish out of cars cause road accidents and carelessly discarded cigarette ends start grass fires, especially during dry summers.
Dropping litter is an offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and offenders can be fined as much as £2,500. Any reports of people regularly dropping litter or dumping other items (fly tipping), will be investigated and legal proceedings undertaken whenever possible.
Needles, syringes and other drug related items are being increasingly discarded in the environment.
There are a number of hazards associated with handling these items and if discovered you should contact us, as a matter of urgency, on 01256 844844 to have them safely removed.
Please note that any needles, or syringes, etc. found on educational premises (e.g. schools, nurseries, etc.) during working hours should be reported immediately to the premises directly where staff on site are trained to deal with such items.
Raising public awareness of the problems caused by litter and refuse is an important part of our work. Officers are more that happy to give talks and presentations to Residents Forums, Community Associations or any other interest group.
We regularly take school assemblies, (along with a large green bear called General Waste), and run classroom workshops for children from pre-school to secondary school.
People create litter. The more people there are the more litter gets dropped. It’s everyone’s responsibility to dispose of their waste properly. There are approximately 2,500 litter bins in our Borough so please use them. And if you can’t find a bin – take your litter home.
See also: Street Cleansing