Fines for littering vary according to council area

People littering across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire face fines of anywhere between £75 and £500 depending on where the offence takes place.

Some councils issue thousands of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) while others give out a handful or none at all, according to responses to Freedom of Information requests.

John Read, founder of campaign group Clean Up Britain, said: "The only councils which are enforcing in an effective way are the ones which are using private sector enforcement companies because they have a clear commercial interest."

A spokesman for the Local Government Association (LGA) said councils would use their powers in the way that suited them best.

The BBC requested figures from all relevant local authorities across the three counties, from 1 April 2020 to the present.

They showed offenders in Luton, Bedford and Milton Keynes, where private contractors are used, were more likely to be fined for littering than in other districts.

During that period, one person was fined in Watford; three in Stevenage; and six in the Three Rivers district, while no FPNs were issued in St Albans or Broxbourne.

The current penalties vary greatly across the authorities, from £75 (reduced to £50 for early payment) to £500.

In 2020-21, Milton Keynes City Council issued 45 fines, collecting £3,675.

From January 2022 the authority started using a private contractor.

In 2022-23, it issued 7,288 fines, generating £473,680, with most penalties for "smoking-related litter".

Bedford Borough Council issued between 1,300 and nearly 3,000 fines each year.

In 2021-22 alone, it collected more than £172,000, with the dropping of cigarette butts accounting for the vast majority of offences.

Hundreds of spitting offences were recorded over the past five years in the borough.

In 2020-21, Luton Borough Council issued 227 fines, collecting £2,275, and by 2024-25, the number of fines had risen to more than 3,000 a year, generating over £52,000.

The council increased its standard fine to £500 in 2023, with a reduced rate for early payment, and said enforcement was carried out by both council teams and a private contractor.

Dacorum Borough Council issued only 11 fines in 2020-21, rising to more than 2,400 in both 2022-23 and 2023-24.

Most were for cigarette litter, with fine levels increasing slightly over the five-year period.

Broxbourne Council said it had issued no FPNs for littering over the same period.

It said it prioritised enforcement activity that had the greatest impact, such as fly-tipping and other "high-level environmental crimes".

Buckinghamshire Council said it "did not have a dedicated litter enforcement function prior to 2025".

In 2025 it issued 215 fines, collecting more than £52,000.

By contrast, several councils reported issuing very few littering fines since 2020.

Central Bedfordshire Council issued just 10 fines over five years, collecting £450 in total, recording no penalties at all in some years.

It said its approach was based on "prevention, education and proportionate enforcement", adding: "Effective enforcement does not depend on the use of private companies."

Three Rivers District Council issued six fines during the same period, while Watford Borough Council recorded just one.

Stevenage Borough Council issued three fines in total, and St Albans City and District Council said it did not issue fixed penalty notices for littering.

North Hertfordshire District Council reported issuing six fines since 2020, classifying the offences as small-scale fly-tipping rather than littering.

It said its enforcement resources were focused on tackling fly-tipping and that it took a "proportionate" approach to littering.

Read said that most councils were failing when it came to enforcement, which he described as "incredibly important because if you cannot enforce the law then the law is completely useless".

He said about 20 million people in the UK admitted to littering, which he said most people considered an "unpunishable offence".

The LGA spokesperson said: "Councils work hard to keep parks, streets and public spaces clean and free from litter, which is always unacceptable.

"Each community has different needs and councils use their powers in the way that suits them best with the resources they have."