Comment It’s time to toughen up on the litter louts, say councils
fines. There are currently restrictions on how they are allowed to spend the money raised, but the government is considering scrapping these.
Other responses came from groups such as the Local Government Association, which also represent councils.
However, a total of 181 responses were received in total, suggesting it's not only councils that feel fines should be increased. Groups such as the Countryside Alliance and the Campaign to Protect Rural England were among those responding.
Just 13 per cent said that fines shouldn't be increased at all. Others backed a smaller increase, such as raising the maximum fine to £100.
While we know the outcome of the consultation, the government has not revealed which organisations backed higher fines.
Ministers have not revealed what they plan to do as a result of the consultation, although there would be little point holding it if they didn't intend to listen to the results. But one change they are already planning is to allow councils to fine the driver of a car if any passenger throws litter out the window.
The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 gives the government the power to do this, but so far ministers have not bought the powers granted by the act into effect. The person responsible would be the “keeper” of the vehicle. In practice, this means the driver rather than the owner.
It could mean that taxi drivers face a fine if their passenger throws litter out the window, but the consultation found 61 per cent of those who responded felt an exception should be made for keepers of public service vehicles, taxis and private hire cars.
The consultation was part of a government crackdown in litter which has also included the announcement of £500,000 will be awarded to community projects.
Cash will be available for projects such as research into what causes people to drop litter to digital technology such as “smart-bins” that can text alerts to rubbish collectors when they are full.
Cleaning up the country's streets costs the tax payer almost £800 million a year, according to the government.
And the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says one in five people admit to having dropped litter in the past. This suggests four in five people claim never to have dropped any litter, which might seem rather optimistic.
Environment minister Thérèse Coffey, said: “The Litter Innovation Fund offers a great opportunity for the most creative solutions to littering to receive funding and for us all to learn new ways of how to stop littering happening. Ten per cent of the fund is entirely dedicated to preventing marine litter, a growing problem with global consequences for our precious marine environment.
“I encourage groups to get involved and showcase the wealth of options there are out there to tackle littering. Let's help people make the right choices.”
It could mean that taxi drivers face a fine if their passenger throws litter out the window