Councils call for more power to punish litter lout motorists
Thursday 26 August 2010 Back to Blog
Van leasing drivers could face more stringent anti-littering laws under proposals by local authorities.
The Local Government Authority (LGA), which represents councils in England and Wales, is calling for motorists who drop litter from their vehicles to be dealt with in a similar way to those caught speeding.
At present, fines can be sent to the addresses of those spotted littering. However, if they deny the charge then the council must prove in court that it was that particular person who committed the offence and not someone else in the vehicle.
Councils are now asking the government to change the rules to make the owner of the vehicle responsible if they cannot provide details of the offender, as is currently done in speeding cases.
"Littering is environmental vandalism - it's unpleasant, unnecessary and unacceptable. When you get a speeding ticket or flytipping fine, the keeper of the vehicle can be prosecuted if they don't hand over details of the offender, so why not for littering too?" said Gary Porter, chairman of the LGA's Environment Board.
A recent study by Keep Britain Tidy revealed that 20 per cent of all motorists admitted to throwing rubbish from their vehicles in the previous six months.