Council drive to reduce littering from vehicles

Drivers are warned not to litter from vehicles, after three separate fixed penalties have been issued by Shropshire Council in the past six weeks to drivers caught littering in both the Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth areas.

Councils spend nearly £1 billion on street cleansing a year nationally, and a good proportion of that is spent clearing litter dropped from vehicles.  In a recent litter pick of one section of the A5 in Shrewsbury by Ringway, over sixty bags of rubbish was collected, weighing in at half a tonne.

Claire Wild, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, said:

“I hope these recent incidents are just a blip, as the cost to the council is unfortunately high if people litter from their cars.  In a small section of road, half a tonne of rubbish was collected, so you can imagine how much is collected throughout the county.

“We know the overwhelming majority of motorists are responsible and take their rubbish home or use a street bin, but we would like to remind the few about the unseen costs and penalties of throwing rubbish out their car.”

Under the powers of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, council officers who witness littering from a vehicle are able to obtain driver’s details from the DVLA, so a fixed penalty can be issued to the driver.

If the case goes to court because of a non-payment of a fine, then a maximum penalty of £2,500 is available to the magistrates.