Littering
- Tackling littering
- Report littering
- Adopt a Street scheme
- Report overflowing litter bins
- Request a new litter bin
- Sponsor a litter bin
- Free litter prevention sessions for schools
Tackling littering
Dropping rubbish makes our district look untidy and is a danger to wildlife. It also costs money to clean up. We spend £1.5million every year on street cleaning, including picking up rubbish. That is money we could use on something else.
Littering is also against the law. If you are caught, you will get a £500 Fixed Penalty Notice.
Our Community and Environmental Protection Team deal with reports of littering. Our Civil Enforcement Officers can also take action against people seen throwing rubbish from vehicles.
What we are doing to tackle littering
Between 2019 and 2023 we had a specific focus on tackling littering in our corporate strategy. Actions we took included:
- Putting in extra litter bins. We already empty more than 1,000 litter and dog bins every year.
- Putting up new signage in litter hot spots to encourage people to do the right thing with their rubbish.
- Advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the harm littering causes.
- Creating our volunteer litter picking scheme Adopt a Street.
- Working with Keep Britain Tidy to audit our litter bins to ensure we had enough of them and they were in the right places to encourage people to do the right thing with their litter.
- Working with other community groups and other organisations to help raise awareness of littering and to find solutions.
- Funding free litter prevention sessions in schools. More than 10,000 children have benefitted from these sessions and been inspired to help keep their community clean and to encourage others to follow their lead.
- Continuing to clean more than 2,000 miles of footpaths, roads and verges across Wychavon
- Issuing Fixed Penalty Notices and taking other enforcement action.
In our new We Are Wychavon Plan we have made the protecting and enhancing our environment one of our three priorities. Many of the actions listed above continue to take place but are now considered part of our everyday work, rather than a specific and time-limited project.
Report littering
Report badly littered areas to us. If you are reporting an issue on public land you can use our online reporting system and we will arrange to have it cleared.
If you know the littering you are reporting is on private land, then email our Community and Environmental Protection officers at
Littering from vehicles
If you see someone throw rubbish or cigarette ends out of a vehicle then report them to us. Do not forget to get their registration number. If you have dashcam footage you can send that to us as well. We can use this information to take action against the person responsible.
Report littering from vehicles (select other request option)
Join our Adopt a Street scheme
Agree to pick an area of land where you live, big or small, and we will provide you with free litter picking equipment. You will also receive our regular newsletter updating you on the campaign. You can sign up as an individual, community group, business, school or other organisation.
Find out more about Adopt a Street
Report full litter bins
We are responsible for emptying more than 850 litter bins across the district. They are emptied on a weekly or daily basis depending on where they are.
Report a full litter or dog bin
If you want to report a damaged litter or dog bin please call Client Services on 01386 565018 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Request a new litter bin
New litter bins are normally put in after talking to your town or parish council. For more information contact Phil Childs on 01386 565399 between 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday or email
Sponsor a litter bin
Businesses can also sponsor litter bins in their area and we are happy to put sponsor's details on the bin. For more information about sponsoring a litter bin please contact Phil Childs on 01386 565399 between 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday or email
Free litter prevention sessions for schools
We are offering free litter prevention sessions for schools in our district. They are run by Karen Blanchfield, from local company Little Litter Warriors, who is also a Keep Britain Tidy Litter Heroes Ambassador.
Sessions take place outdoors and in a Covid-19 Secure way. Pupils will be taught about why littering is anti-social and the risks to wildlife. They will then take part in a litter hunt, which is a litter pick with the added challenge of trying to find the oldest piece of litter.
After the session teachers will be provided with a lesson plan to run follow-up sessions. Schools are also encouraged to join Wychavon's Adopt a Street volunteer litter picking scheme. You will get your own kit to keep so you can run your own litter picks.
Sessions are booked directly through Little Litter Warriors. They are paid for by us as part of our commitment to reduce littering.
Book a free litter education session
For more information
Client Services
Wychavon District Council
Telephone: 01386 565018 between 9am - 5pm, Monday - Friday.
Email:
