It’s illegal to litter our streets and open spaces. If we catch someone dropping litter, flyering without a permit or not clearing up dog mess, we'll issue a fixed penalty notice (FPN).
A fixed penalty notice (FPN) is a fine issued instead of prosecution in court. If you receive one and don't pay it, you'll be prosecuted and may have to pay a bigger fine as well as court costs.
We can issue an FPN of £80 if you:
We can issue an FPN of £110 if you:
We can issue an FPN of £150 if you:
We can issue an FPN of £300 if you:
fail to produce a Waste Transfer Note or Duty of Care Certificate or non-compliance with Certificate
We can issue an FPN of £400 if you
To find out why we issue FPN fines, the standards we apply and how we enforce keeping the city's streets clean, go to our Environmental enforcement framework.
Under the law, our environmental enforcement officers have the power to ask for and take personal details from people known to have committed an offence. They can also issue FPNs there and then, but never ask for, take or accept money.
If caught, you must give your full name and address to the enforcement officer. Officers check identity using an electronic identification system.
It is a criminal offence to refuse to give personal details under Section 8(a) of the Environmental Protection Act. The maximum penalty for not providing this information is £1,000 and a criminal conviction.
If you are given a fine, pay your environmental fixed penalty notice online.
If an FPN isn't paid, the case will progress to the local Magistrate's Court. The maximum penalty on conviction is £2,500, a criminal conviction and associated costs.
We keep records of:
Read our FPN privacy notice for environmental offences for information on how we store and process personal information.
Environmental enforcement officers wear blue jackets, black trousers and body cameras. Like the police, our officers use body cameras to gather evidence and identify offenders.
They also wear body cameras for protection of themselves and the public.
We issue fines under central government guidelines for issuing FPNs. Officers aren't paid incentives or commission for issuing fines, and do not have targets.
This service is run at no cost to local taxpayers. It's funded by the FPNs. Under government guidelines, we aren't allowed to use enforcement to generate revenue. If there's extra money from collecting fines, it's re-invested into improving rubbish and recycling services.
We issue fines under the Environment Protection Act 1990, the Cleaner Neighbourhoods Environment Act 2005 and the Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003. Officers can legally go into commercial properties to deal with offences under these acts.
The council can seize vehicles that have been involved in environmental offences. You can claim a seized vehicle by following the process explained in the seizure notice.