Litter Day of Action - 10th June 2010
About the campaign
Anyone caught dropping litter can receive a Fixed Penalty Notice of £50 or referral to the Procurator Fiscal for the consideration of a prosecution. However, research carried out by Keep Scotland Tidy has indicated that while people are aware that it is an offence to drop litter, there is not enough publicity about people receiving a fine to make it a credible threat or deterrent.
Research commissioned by Keep Scotland Beautiful into 'Public Attitudes to Litter & Littering in Scotland' identified enforcement and fines as one of the biggest deterrents to dropping litter. However, to be effective, enforcement powers have to be used appropriately and consistently.
To encourage local councils to increase use of the powers available to them, Keep Scotland Beautiful coordinates an annual Litter Day of Action, where council enforcement officers and the police join forces to demonstrate a zero tolerance approach towards dropping litter. The third Litter Day of Action will take place on the 10th June 2010.
Keep Scotland Beautiful encourages members of the public to dispose of their litter in a responsible way every day – but the Litter Day of Action works as a reminder and added incentive to put litter in the bin. Failure to do so could lead to a Fixed Penalty Notice of £50 or referral to the Procurator Fiscal for the consideration of a prosecution.
Results
All 32 Scottish local authorities and the eight police forces are invited to support the campaign. In 2010, 18 local authorities
and four police forces took part, supplying a total of 235 officers on the day. The combined efforts of 14 local authority areas
issued a total of 313 fixed penalty notices between them to litterers on that day.
Background information
Supporting agencies
- Aberdeen City
- Aberdeenshire
- Angus
- Dumfries and Galloway
- Dundee City
- East Ayrshire
- East Dunbartonshire
- Falkirk
- Fife
- Glasgow City
- Moray
- North Lanarkshire
- Perth and Kinross
- Renfrewshire
- South Ayrshire
- Stirling
- West Dunbartonshire
- West Lothian
- Central Scotland Police
- Fife Constabulary
- Grampian Police
- Strathclyde Police
Background
In the 'Public Attitudes to Litter & Littering in Scotland' report, members of the public highlighted that the threat of a financial penalty has great potential to work as an effective disincentive to littering. Increasing the number of litter wardens, to act as a deterrent and encourage people not to litter, was felt likely to have a positive effect; and fines, if effectively enforced and communicated, were considered a valuable method of preventing litter and punishing litterers.
Further information about litter and the law
On 25th May, a two hour Briefing Session for the Litter Day of Action was held at the Keep Scotland Beautiful offices in Stirling, to help those taking part in the LDA prepare for it.
The presentation and the notes from the discussions are available to download below