Littering

Littering is the act of irresponsible people who drop or leave small amounts of waste in public places, or by discarding it from vehicles. It can be anything from a cigarette stub to a small bag of rubbish.

Put together, these small items can make an area look untidy and cause harm to wildlife and the environment.

Dropped litter can often end up in storm drains, ditches, streams, and rivers, potentially reaching our oceans resulting in harm to marine life and contaminating water courses.

We all know that litter often contains plastics, which do not biodegrade however, other types of litter such as banana skins, apple cores and chewing gum can also have a detrimental impact on the environment and It’s All Littering.

Fact 1

It takes two years for a banana skin to decompose.

This potentially exposes animals to environmental contaminants and/or pesticides that can have a negative health impact.

Fact 2

Cigarette stubs can take 1,000 years to break down.

Over time they release toxins into the earth however, they also contain plasticised cellulose acetate which is not biodegradable and can remain on earth as plastic forever.

Fact 3

Chewing gum is not biodegradable.

The synthetic plastics which are found in Chewing Gum will always stay on earth as plastic.

It’s All Littering

All district and borough councils across Leicestershire are working together to raise awareness around the impact litter has on the environment and to highlight waste types such as cigarette stubs and banana skins which are not always associated with litter.

All councils offer an easy-to-use report it form on their website, which can be found by following the links below.

Sending as much information and evidence as you can speeds up the cleansing process and can also help us catch those responsible.

Littering is a criminal offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Local Authorities and the Police can issue Fixed Penalty Notices for £150 to anyone over the age of 10 caught littering. Litterers could also face a fine of up to £2,500.

Select your council to report Littering:

1. Blaby DC District Cleansing and Highway Sweeping – Blaby District Council
2. Charnwood BC Litter – Street management – Charnwood Borough Council
3. Harborough DC Litter and graffiti | Litter and graffiti | Harborough District Council
4. H&B BC How to report this to us | Litter dropped from a vehicle | Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council (hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk)
5. Leicester City Love Clean Streets (leicester.gov.uk)
6. Melton BC Report a Problem – Melton Borough Council
7. NWLDC Littering – North West Leicestershire District Council (nwleics.gov.uk)
8. Oadby & Wigston BC Environmental Crime – Oadby and Wigston Borough Council (oadby-wigston.gov.uk)