Litter
Littering is Illegal - Under the Environmental Protection Act, 1990, Section 87. On-the-spot fines of £50 can be issued to anyone over the age of 14 caught littering. Unpaid fines can incur a further £2,500 fine in court!
Litter is Unsightly - The Council spends about £400,000 each year clearing up people’s mess from roads, footpaths and public open spaces. A further £30,000 is spent removing illegally dumped rubbish such as old appliances and bags of garden waste from the countryside and lay bys.
Litter is Unhealthy - Litter can attract vermin and makes places unhealthy to live in. In medieval times people threw most of their rubbish out into the street. This led to outbreaks of disease such as the Black Death. It has been suggested that a whole generation of rats has been brought up on litter alone.
Litter is Dangerous - It can seriously injure both animals and humans. Discarded plastic pots and bottles can trap animals and broken glass is particularly dangerous on playing fields and in parks. Throwing litter from cars can cause road accidents.
The most common types of litter in Horsham District are:
- Cigarette ends
- Sweet wrappers
- Drinks containers
- Cigarette packaging
- Fast food packaging
There’s no excuse for littering!
How long does litter take to break down?
- Glass - 100,000 + yrs
- Plastic bottles - indefinite
- Aluminium cans - 80 - 100 yrs
- Steel cans - 100 yrs
- Cigarette ends - up to 2 yrs
- Fruit peelings - up to 2 yrs
If you would like to report a case of Littering please complete and submit the online form which will be directed to the appropriate department within the Authority to deal with.