PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE ITEM 10
21ST NOVEMBER, 1988
LITTER
Report of the County Secretary, County Planning Officer and County
Surveyor
Background
1. At the September meeting of the Council the following Notice of
Motion, submitted by Councillor Drinkwater, was referred to the
Planning and Transportation Committee for consideration:
"This County Council is concerned at the amount of litter in
public places and along the highways, and the poor standards
of social responsibility which this demonstrates.
The Council therefore instructs the Chief Executive in
co-operation with the Chief Officers of the Council, to
propose a campaign for encouraging all members of the public -
both residents and visitors - to act more responsibly by
preventing litter, and to consider more effective means of
removing litter".
2. The motion was prompted by Councillor Drinkwater's personal
concern at the problems of litter (particularly along the M27);
frustration at litter returning even where Parish Councils in
his area have been active in promoting local anti-litter
campaigns; and his view that the County Council is in a position
of influence and has a moral obligation (as well as powers) to
take the lead in promoting measures for the prevention and
removal of litter.
Introduction
3. The problem of litter prevention and removal is not a new one.
It has taxed the ingenuity of Central and Local Government and
other agencies for many years in seeking solutions. The fact
that the problem remains indicates that there are no easy
answers. The County Council have, from time to time, been
involved in anti-litter measures. Schools have been involved in
producing anti-litter posters and similar material, often in
association with national campaigns. Traditionally, however,
the County Council's general view has been that the most
effective focus for litter prevention campaigns is at the local
level and that District Councils are best placed to do this,
including stimulating voluntary initiatives.
4. The purpose of this report is:
(i) To outline in broad terms the current activities and
responsibilities of the various agencies and interest
groups involved in the prevention and removal of litter;
(ii) To provide a basis for consultations with Hampshire
District Councils and the investigation of measures which
might be pursued to combat the problems of litter.
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(iii) To enable at least an interim report to be submitted to the
next meeting of the Council on 15th December, 1988, to
fulfil the requirements of Standing Order 7(d).
Current Position and Responsibilities
(a) Legislation
5. The Litter Act 1983 is the main legislation under which County,
District and Parish Councils are all constituted "litter
authorities". Sections 1 and 2 empower a litter authority to
bring proceedings against people who throw down, drop or
otherwise deposit litter in their area or on land controlled or
managed by them (including highways) and (with a view to
promoting the abatement of litter) to take steps to make known
to the public the penalties for so doing (see paragraph 30
below). Section 3 enables the Secretary of State to make grants
to any body for the purpose of assisting the body to encourage
the public not to deface places by litter.
6. Section 4 of the Act, which is not yet in force, will place a
duty on the Council and other litter authorities to consult each
other from time to time about steps which each of them propose
to take to abate litter in the County. There will also be a
requirement to prepare and from time to time revise a statement
of proposed actions. No date has yet been appointed for the
implementation of this Section of the Act (although it is
understood that some Counties have already proceeded to prepare
County Litter Plans).
7. Section 5 of the Act empowers County Councils, District Councils
and Parish Councils to provide and maintain litter bins in
streets and public places.
8. The County Council's general duty to maintain highways under the
Highways Act 1980 includes street cleaning, but only to such
standard as is necessary for road safety purposes (see paras. 20
and 21 below).
9. In a number of capacities the County Council is responsible for
maintaining public places in its ownership.
10. Section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972 enables a local
Authority to do anything which facilitates or is conducive or
incidental to the discharge of any of its functions.
11. Thus, pending the bringing into force of Section 4 of the Litter
Act 1983 (which will place a duty on the County Council - among
others - to do something about the problem of litter) there are
other duties upon, and powers available to, the Council which
would enable initiatives to be taken. Any significant exercise
or extension of the existing use of these powers is, however
likely to have resource implications.
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(b) Central Government
12. Whilst there are laws to deal with litter it is the view of the
Department of the Environment that the complex problem is one
where persuasion and a change of public attitudes will be more
effective than more laws and regulations. In this respect the
Government plays its part by giving financial support to the
Tidy Britain Group (known formerly as the Keep Britain Tidy
Group) who wage a continuous anti-litter campaign throughout the
country in collaboration with all sectors of the community.
13. The Department of the Environment believe that education would
be more successful if Britain could first be tidied up and then
kept tidy, since litter regrettably attracts more litter. For
this reason the Secretary of State asked the Tidy Britain Group
to think about what could realistically be done in the short
term to improve our surroundings. The result of this
reappraisal has been the Group's 'Clean 90s' campaign the first
phase of which was launched by the Prime Minister in March this
year. Further details of the Group's activities are included in
paragraph 19 below.
14. Although Government can set the legislative framework, and Local
Authorities can devote resources to cleaning the streets and the
countryside, the Department of the Environment believe the
problem is not one which 'they' can solve on their own. They
want to see commerce and industry involved at both national and
local levels, to see voluntary groups becoming active - putting
pressure on and co-operating with local councils and local
businessmen. Above all they want to encourage civic pride so
that litter is simply not created in the first place. This is
an ambitious aim and the Department of the Environment recognise
that it is not one that can be achieved quickly or easily.
15. The Department of Transport is the Highway Authority responsible
for all motorways and trunk roads. In Hampshire the County
Council acts as their agents.
16. The agency arrangements require that the County Council manages
the maintenance function on motorways and trunk roads in
accordance with the policies and standards of the Department of
Transport, as prescribed in their Code of Practice for Routine
Maintenance activities and within annual budget allocations.
The Code of Practice requires general litter clearance of
motorway and trunk road verges and side slopes once a year. An
application has already been made to the Department of Transport
to enhance the standards of litter clearance and for additional
funding of this activity, but without success. The policy of
the Department of Transport has been to remove litter bins
completely from all laybys alongside trunk roads. This has been
carried out in Hampshire and signs provided instead saying
'Please take your litter home' and indicating a penalty of a
£400 fine for litter offenders.
17. The improvement of the "Roadside Environment" through the
possible introduction of litter clearance schemes on trunk roads
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and motorways in the County, under the umbrella of the 'UK 2000'
initiative, had been proposed by the County Surveyor to the
Department of Transport. It was hoped that if successful such
schemes could be introduced to County main roads. Unfortunately
the Department of Transport did not accept this proposal as
qualifying under that initiative as it is a motorway and trunk
road maintenance activity already funded - albeit most
inadequately.
(c) The Tidy Britain Group
18. This independent voluntary body is part funded by central
government and acts as the Department of the Environment's agent
in the operation of litter abatement campaigns. An increased
grant from the government has enabled the Group to have a
central project team based at Wigan plus regional officers.
19. Reference is made in paragraph 13 above to the Group's 'Clean
90's' campaign. Initially this will comprise a programme of
pilot projects, running through 1988/89, which will research
litter and waste management in the following areas:
Transport: Around motorway service stations, beside major trunk
roads and near railway stations and lines.
Industry and Commerce: The provision and servicing of litter
bins and general condition of street furniture and pavements.
Local Authorities: With five towns as 'models' there will be a
detailed review of the Community Environment Programme including
a study of the enforcement of the Litter Act.
Tourist Spots: The Group will examine the litter problems
associated with major tourist areas.
There will be 'before' and 'after' studies to assess the
effectiveness of different approaches to the problems and each
scheme will be reviewed regularly to assess results. Successful
methods will then be developed by the Group for its subsequent
national campaign leading to a Tidy Britain Year in 1990. The
underlying objective is to enlist the support of everyone to
keep the country clean.
The Group enjoy active participation and support from all parts
of British society and its campaigning strategy combines
national awareness with local action, which it supports and
promotes through the media, backed by poster advertising and TV
commercials etc. The Group also promotes a variety of education
and research programmes and generally seeks to promote public
consciousness and awareness of the problem of litter to increase
demand for remedial action.
(d) Hampshire County Council
20. As Highway Authority the Council is responsible for highway
maintenance which includes street sweeping for highway purposes.
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In many areas of the County this is undertaken by District
Councils under agency arrangements.
21. The standard and frequency of street sweeping (for the purposes
of fulfilling the County Council's highway responsibilities) is
currently under review and is to be the subject of a further
report to the Finance and General Purposes Sub-Committee in the
New Year.
22. Litter bins have been provided by the County Council
traditionally mainly in laybys alongside county roads and other
isolated places on highways where there is a need and where the
provision of such facilities is judged a cost effective way of
dealing with a problem. In some locations where bins have been
provided over the years but their use has proved minimal and
emptying them is not cost effective, they have been removed. It
is not the current practice, and funds are not provided, for the
County Council to provide a litter picking/collection service
along county roads other than from laybys. Deposits of
litter/refuse on highways are in the main dealt with by District
Councils. A policy is required, similar to that of the
Department of Transport, to place signs saying 'Please take your
litter home' where bins are removed or not provided in laybys or
other problem areas within the highway.
23. Waste collection is the responsibility of District Councils,
while the County Council's main role in waste management is
responsibility (through the Public Protection Committee) for
waste disposal. Part of this role is the operation of a
valuable network of 30 household waste amenity points throughout
the County.
24. There is a continuing commitment in many schools to teach young
people social responsibility and to draw attention to the
consequences of leaving litter. Schools remain willing to
participate in any general drive by the County Council to
promote increased consciousness of the problems of litter.
Litter within school (and indeed other County Council) premises
is not generally a problem. However, general observation
suggests that litter is often found outside school premises and
in other places where children and young people congregate.
25. In open spaces and country parks owned and managed by the County
Council, some areas have a worse record for litter than others.
Generally it is found that so long as the field staff keep on
top of the task of clearing rubbish before it accumulates and
attracts other rubbish, the position is reasonable. Indeed,
there are signs that the position is improving notwithstanding
the steadily increasing number of visitors each year. The
County Recreation Officer believes that the public generally now
have a greater appreciation of the countryside than in the
recent past and whereas it was the practice to provide a large
number of litter bins, the public now generally respond well to
requests to take their litter home.
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(e) District Councils
26. District Councils are responsible, inter alia, for waste
collection, environmental health and the provision and
maintenance of recreational facilities including playing fields
and other open spaces. Litter is clearly a problem for them
too. As indicated above, many also undertake road sweeping for
the County Council under highway agency arrangements and combine
this with their own 'amenity' sweeping. Most litter bins and
containers in laybys are provided by District Councils.
27. Councillor Drinkwater's motion was discussed with
representatives of Hampshire District Councils at the meeting of
the Hampshire Consultative Committee on 4th October, 1988.
Districts were invited to inform the County Council of any
initiatives they had taken or intended to take to deal with the
litter problem and to indicate whether they would be prepared to
co-operate and possibly supplement any County Council
initiatives. Responses from District Councils are awaited. It
was agreed that a further report would be presented to the
Consultative Committee.
(f) Parish Councils
28. The prevention of litter is doubtless a matter of interest to
Parish Councils as part of their general concern for the local
environment. Some years ago the Hampshire Association of Parish
Councils initiated a county wide anti-litter campaign ('Keep
Hampshire Tidy') which apparently achieved only limited success
in combating the problem. Individual Parish Councils have also
initiated their own anti-litter campaigns. For example,
Rowlands Castle Parish Council earlier this year sought the
co-operation of village organisations, including churches,
shops, schools and businesses, in a campaign to clear up the
village and keep it clean. Others have undertaken clean-up
operations as part of the annual Best Kept Village competition.
It would appear that such local initiative generally have a
beneficial short-term effect but not a lasting one i.e. litter
returns.
(g) Voluntary Organisations
29. Local amenity societies and other local voluntary groups
frequently organise litter clearance activities in their
localities. Several encourage groups such as Scouts and
occasionally Army Cadets to assist. At national level, the
Civic Trust are promoting 'Environment Week' in April 1989, to
be heralded by the first national 'Spring Clean Day' on the 29th
April.
(h) Sanctions
30. The Litter Act 1983 makes it an offence to deposit litter.
Maximum fines currently are:
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Child aged 10-13 years: £100
Young persons 10-16 years: £400
Adults: £400
31. The Chief Constable advises, however, that the offence is not an
easy one to detect unless the offender is identified at the
time, or the litter itself contains sufficient information to
identify the offender. Where there is sufficient evidence a
prosecution may be mounted by a local Authority, a Police
Officer and in common law by any member of the public. Whilst
this sanction is available, it is the Chief Constable's view
that the real problem is in effecting a responsible attitude in
members of the public, particularly the younger generation.
Possible Initiatives by the County Council
32. Councillor Drinkwater's motion proposes a campaign for
encouraging all members of the public to act more responsibly by
preventing litter. It also proposes that a more effective means
of removing litter be considered. Possible measures are listed
below. It should be noted, however, that at this stage none of
these possibilities has been evaluated in detail or costed. It
will, however, be apparent from the comments quoted earlier in
this report that the general view of those who have studied the
problem is that considerable emphasis should be placed on the
education of the public.
Litter Prevention
33. The following are examples of the sort of initiatives which
might be considered:
- Adding local impetus to national campaigns by use of
posters, press, local radio, etc.
- Inviting the Tidy Britain Group to consider some form of
pilot project in Hampshire.
- An education programme in schools (possibly on similar
lines to the Save Energy campaign a year or so ago and road
safety education programmes).
- Increasing awareness of the problems of litter among all
County Council staff (who are in a position to set an
example in relation to County Council owned premises e.g.
schools, offices).
- Wider use of notices to encourage people to 'take their
litter home'.
- Establishing a common identity (e.g. logo) for litter
prevention activities.
- Investigating how other counties have tackled the problem.
- Investigating how other countries have tackled the problem.
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- Establishing a post of County Litter Prevention Officer to
co-ordinate County Council initiatives, to maintain their
impetus, and to liaise with other litter agencies.
Any such measures would require appropriate monitoring to
establish their effectiveness (or otherwise).
More Effective Means of Litter Removal
34. Examples of possible measures are:
- A higher standard (frequency) of road sweeping on County
Roads (and pressing Central Government for higher standards
and funding for cleaning up operations on motorways and
trunk roads).
- More widespread use of litter bins e.g. in laybys, open
spaces, beaches, car parks etc. (but requiring regular
emptying of course) or alternatively the removal of litter
bins accompanied by appropriate notices (as suggested in
paragraph 22).
- The central bulk purchase of litter receptacles which are
suitable in type and size for different locations, have a
readily recognised identity, and which could also be
purchased by other litter authorities.
- Mounting local 'Clean Up' Days or Weeks - with appropriate
publicity to focus attention on the activity.
- The direct employment of 'litter squads' to undertake
regular clean ups, particularly in locations where litter
most frequently occurs.
35. Many of these measures would be best undertaken in association
with District and Parish Councils (related to existing similar
activities) and involving e.g. schools, voluntary bodies etc.
All would clearly have significant resource implications.
Resource Implications
36. In the time available for the preparation of this report none of
the above suggestions has been evaluated in detail or costed.
Some would clearly be more expensive to implement than others,
but all would have resource implications, a commitment to which
(once assessed) would need to be considered against other
competing expenditure priorities and claims on available
resources.
Conclusions
37. Litter prevention and removal are not new problems. Powers
exist which enable the County Council (and others) to take
action. Nationally, various initiatives are currently being
pursued by the Department of the Environment and the Tidy Briain
Group, as part of their 'Clean 90's' campaign and Tidy Britain
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Year in 1990. Sanctions against litter offenders are available
but difficult to enforce. Experience suggests that emphasis
should be placed on the education of the public to influence
attitudes and behaviour.
38. Section 4 of the Litter Act 1983 (which will place a duty on the
County Council and other litter-authorities to take steps to
abate litter in the County) is not yet in force but in
anticipation of its implementation could be acted upon to
produce a County Litter Plan. Alternatively, there are various
individual measures which could be pursue, as a first step, both
to improve public consciousness and awareness of the problem,
particularly among the younger generation, and to improve upon
existing arrangement for litter removal. Possible initiatives
are outlined in paragraphs 33 and 34 of this report. Many of
these would be best undertaken in association with District and
Parish Councils and others, including schools, and could be
linked to the national campaign of the Tidy Britain Group whose
advice and assistance could be sought. In any event the extent
to which the County Council should involve itself in detailed
matters which in Hampshire have normally been dealt with by
District Councils is a matter for consideration.
39. Particular courses of action would require more detailed
consideration in terms of implementation and cost, and would
need to be considered against other competing expenditure
priorities.
40. Initially, further consultations with District Councils and
other representative bodies would be desirable.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
(i) That this report be circulated to Hampshire District
Councils and other representative bodies with a view to
seeking their comments and to the further investigation of
measures which might be pursued to combat the problems of
litter.
(ii) That a further report be then submitted to this Committee.
(iii) That the County Council be informed of the consultations
and further investigations which the Committee are
initiating in response to Councillor Drinkwater's Notice of
Motion.
3/a/R116/10/88
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