Motorists spotted dropping litter from their car should be fined and receive one penalty point on their licence says Keep Britain Tidy.
The anti-litter charity has launched a campaign today to tackle lazy drivers who lash the trash.
More than 700,000 bags of litter are collected each year from England's roads at huge cost to the public and risk to maintenance staff. Much of this is hurled from cars, vans and lorries and ends up stuck in hedges or piled high at traffic lights.
Shockingly, nearly a quarter of people (23%) admit to dropping litter from their vehicle, according to latest Keep Britain Tidy research.
Identifying the culprits
In relation to litter from vehicles, the law as it stands is complicated. Any passenger or driver can be fined for dropping litter. But often it's difficult to identify the litter-throwing occupant especially if the vehicle is going at speed.
To make it easier to prosecute offenders, Keep Britain Tidy now believes it's time that the owner of the vehicle should be fined and receive points on their driving licence - unless they provide details of the culprit.
In London people caught throwing litter from motor vehicles are facing fines of ?100 thanks to new penalties agreed by London Councils' Transport and Environment Committee (TEC).
Phil Barton, Keep Britain Tidy chief executive said: "Our research shows that the best deterrent to stop motorists littering is points on their licence, community service and a large fine - in that order.
"It needs to be easier to prosecute offenders. The owner should be responsible for the actions of those inside the car. We therefore want the law to go further and see a penalty point put on the licence of those that litter from vehicles.
"It is one of the most annoying things to see - a lazy driver pulls up at the lights and dumps their litter on the road. Our streets have become a giant dumping ground. Drivers and their passengers should take their litter home with them."
Litter facts and figures:
* 2.2 million bits of litter are dropped every single day in England
* It costs the taxpayer ?667m to clean up a year
* Most common things seen littering our streets: confectionary wrappers, fast food litter and cigarette butts
* A quarter of all England's streets have fast food litter on them.
* Since the smoking ban of July 07 the amount of cig litter on our streets has doubled. (stubbs, wrappers etc)
The anti-litter charity has launched a campaign today to tackle lazy drivers who lash the trash.
More than 700,000 bags of litter are collected each year from England's roads at huge cost to the public and risk to maintenance staff. Much of this is hurled from cars, vans and lorries and ends up stuck in hedges or piled high at traffic lights.
Shockingly, nearly a quarter of people (23%) admit to dropping litter from their vehicle, according to latest Keep Britain Tidy research.
Identifying the culprits
In relation to litter from vehicles, the law as it stands is complicated. Any passenger or driver can be fined for dropping litter. But often it's difficult to identify the litter-throwing occupant especially if the vehicle is going at speed.
To make it easier to prosecute offenders, Keep Britain Tidy now believes it's time that the owner of the vehicle should be fined and receive points on their driving licence - unless they provide details of the culprit.
In London people caught throwing litter from motor vehicles are facing fines of ?100 thanks to new penalties agreed by London Councils' Transport and Environment Committee (TEC).
Phil Barton, Keep Britain Tidy chief executive said: "Our research shows that the best deterrent to stop motorists littering is points on their licence, community service and a large fine - in that order.
"It needs to be easier to prosecute offenders. The owner should be responsible for the actions of those inside the car. We therefore want the law to go further and see a penalty point put on the licence of those that litter from vehicles.
"It is one of the most annoying things to see - a lazy driver pulls up at the lights and dumps their litter on the road. Our streets have become a giant dumping ground. Drivers and their passengers should take their litter home with them."
Litter facts and figures:
* 2.2 million bits of litter are dropped every single day in England
* It costs the taxpayer ?667m to clean up a year
* Most common things seen littering our streets: confectionary wrappers, fast food litter and cigarette butts
* A quarter of all England's streets have fast food litter on them.
* Since the smoking ban of July 07 the amount of cig litter on our streets has doubled. (stubbs, wrappers etc)
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