Litter, rubbish and fly tipping

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 This section of our website looks at problems caused by fly-tipping, litter and waste and examines approaches to tackling them to reduce the effect they have on our environment.

The issue

The presence of litter degrades the environment and affects peoples' quality of life. The effects of anti-social behaviour (ASB) are most visible when the results of that behaviour ruin the places that we visit once we walk out of our front doors. Litter in our parks, playgrounds and neighbourhoods, and fly-tipped waste our alleyways or on railway land and down our streets signals to the community that anti-social behaviour is taking hold.

Reversing the trend is not impossible. Tackling environmental ASB pays real dividends:  people feel safer when their streets, parks, schools and wider community are clean and maintained. we aim to tackle these problems quickly, so that you can regain a sense of pride in their area which encourages everyone to act responsibly, take care of their neighbourhood and report problems.

Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of any waste on to land with no licence to accept waste and is a criminal offence.

Litter is anything dropped in a public place from sweet wrappers to bin liners of household rubbish. It also includes smoking-related litter, discarded chewing gum and the unauthorised distribution of literature on designated land. Fines are available for litter and fly-tipping offences.

Legislation

The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 made a number of changes to the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989 in order to improve the rate of detection and prosecution of fly-tippers.

In April 2006 the Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005 introduced further changes to these Acts designed to ensure litter and waste is disposed of legally and impose tougher penalties on those who break the law and degrade our environment.

The Act has extended the offence of litter to include smoking related litter and chewing gum and has increased enforcement powers. Authorities can now ask owners and occupiers of land to clear it of litter and waste and take measures to prevent a recurrence of the problem. Littering on all open land to which the public is entitled or permitted to have access is now an offence as is dropping litter on water.

The Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act also established a duty of care on householders to dispose of waste responsibly. Householders must now take reasonable measures to ensure that waste is only passed people authorised to dispose of waste or registered to do so by the Environment Agency.

Commercial waste disposal responsibilities

Responsibilities on small business disposing of waste and commercial waste handlers to dispose of waste legally have been increased as have penalties for offences. People who collect or transport waste for profit must also be registered with the Environment Agency. At the same time authorities’ powers to investigate fly-tipping offences, impose penalties and recover costs for their investigation have also significantly increased under the Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act.

What should I do if I see litter, rubbish or fly tipping?

Please report it immediately.

Follow this link to report litter|, fly tipping|, rubbish on the highway|, or fly posting| to Gloucester City Council.

Follow this link to report litter, rubbish or fly tipping to Gloucester City Homes|.

We will work together with the City Council to ensure that your neighbourhoods are kept, clean,safe and tidy.

Our Service Standards

We will:

• contact you within 5 working days in non-emergency cases or within 1 working day in urgent cases. Emergencies should be immediately reported to the police
• If necessary, arrange an interview with you within 5 working days in non-emergency cases or within 1 working day in urgent cases
• discuss the situation and advise you on the options that may be available to help resolve the problem such as mediation, voluntary agreements, legal action
• help you keep a detailed diary of events, which will help us gather any evidence needed to take further action
• work with you to try to resolve your problem, and explain clearly what is happening at each stage
• jointly work with the police and any other agency that may be able to help resolve the problem
• consider legal action against any person who continues to behave in an anti-social way, including taking court injunction and possession proceedings, or an Anti-social Behaviour Order, or supporting criminal prosecutions recommended by the police to the Crown Prosecution Service
• work with the police and other agencies to protect you and any other witnesses.

 

Further Information

For further information on how Gloucester City Homes deals with litter; rubbish or fly tipping anti-social behaviour please contact us|.

For further information on how Gloucester City Council deals with litter, rubbish, fly tipping, fly posters etc. or for information on rubbish collection or recycling follow this link to Gloucester City Council's| website.