It has been revealed that Leeds City Council has dished out a fifth fewer fines for littering in 2020, compared to the year previous.
The figures - which have been revealed as part of InYourArea.co.uk’s 'Don't Trash Our Future' campaign launched last summer that aims to address the epidemic of littering in the UK - show that the council has issued a total of 2,331 fines last year.
This is compared to 2,958 fines handed out the year before.
A survey conducted of more than 7,500 people then also found that 85% saw litter as a big or major issue in their area, and almost two-thirds (64%) thought that the levels got worse as lockdown restriction eased.
Littering is a criminal offence, which carries a maximum fine of £2,500 and can be tried in a magistrates' court, but councils often instead issue £100 fines with discounts for paying quickly, instead of taking people to court.
Failure to pay can lead to prosecution.
John Read - Founder of Clean Up Britain - said that "serious fines and serious enforcement" are needed to tackle littering across the country - but Leeds social entrepreneur Rob Greenland thinks a long-term cultural shift is needed instead to ensure people take pride in the city's green spaces.
Mr Read said that £100 fines are "pathetic" and added that: "Councils need to understand that only behavioural change will resolve Britain's litter epidemic.
"A £100 fine, reduced to £50 if paid in 14 days, is not going to change anyone's behaviour.
"If local areas are to stop being litter-ridden - which most are - then we need serious fines and serious enforcement in this country.
But Mr Greenland argued that enforcement of littering laws should be a last resort, and said he'd be worried to see more fines handed out, stating: "I would have a bit of a concern that teenagers in skate parks are getting fined rather than a group of middle-class mums and dads having a picnic".
He continued: "The only way you can tackle this is if you get people who have pride in a place, then those who might see a lot of people who care about a place and think ‘I shouldn’t drop litter’.
"A lot of parks have got ‘friends of’ groups that are really active [and] there’s Litter Free Leeds who are picking litter all the time.
"But that’s a longer term cultural shift."
A Leeds City Council spokesperson said service disruptions caused by lockdowns, as well as lower footfall in usually-busy areas, should be taken into account when comparing yearly figures, and added that while the council aims to provide "more normal levels of litter clearance and prevention", COVID restrictions mean that services may still be limited.
The spokesperson said: "Local community litter picking is also a growing resource in the city with Litter Free Leeds ‘Womble’ groups doing more and more to tackle litter in local neighbourhoods,
"We continue to take a zero tolerance policy to littering in Leeds [and] the issuing of fines is one of the many tools that we use to tackle littering in the city.
"We believe the best way to tackle the issue of littering is to engage positively and constructively with people of all ages to ensure people understand their responsibilities in relation to litter and waste and that sustainable behaviour change remains a priority [but] unfortunately, there are some people who will ignore these type of messages and continue to litter.
"Therefore we are committed to using our full range of legal enforcement powers to tackle such waste and litter crimes."
David Renard - Environment Spokesperson for the Local Government Association - added that councils "work hard" to keep public spaces clean, but the pandemic has "undoubtedly" impacted the number of fines handed out.
"Responsibility for clearing up litter lies with the person dropping it or leaving it behind," he said.
"The COVID-19 lockdown restrictions over the past year will have undoubtedly impacted the number of these handed out [and] each council has to decide the best way to tackle litter in their individual communities.
"But whilst we recognise that responses have to be proportionate, measures must be robust enough to tackle abuse of the local environment".
Featured Image - Flickr
Trending
Rules for booking driving tests in UK set to change from today to make system ‘fairer’
The rules around booking driving tests in the UK are officially set to change from today in a bid to make the system ‘fairer’.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has now introduced new rules for car driving test bookings, putting learners ‘firmly in control’ of their own booking, as it is now against the law for third parties – including unofficial test booking and cancellation finder services, as well as driving instructors – to make bookings for someone else.
It will also be a breach of DVSA’s terms and conditions for the booking service for third parties to change, swap, or cancel a driving test for someone else.
Learners should only ever pay the official DVSA fee – which is £62 on weekdays and £75 on evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
The Government says the new rules aim to make booking driving tests ‘fairer’ for learner drivers.
While driving instructors will no longer be able to book tests on behalf of of learners, they will still be able to advise learners on when they are ready to take a test, as well as set their available times to prevent learners from booking tests at times that do not work for them.
Following on from changes to test alterations which were introduced at the end of March, from 9 June 2026, further restrictions will come into force limiting learners to moving their test only to one of the three nearest driving test centres.
The DVSA has also pledged to continue increasing driving examiner capacity to help provide more tests for learners to book.
“Our priority is to stop learners being exploited by third parties, put them in control of their driving test, and make the process fairer by clamping down on businesses that resell tests at inflated prices,” commented Beverley Warmington, who is the DVSA Chief Executive.
“These new measures help bring a halt to a system where the use of bots and third parties increases the amount some learners pay for a test and blocks test availability for many others.
“These measures will help free up appointments for genuine learners who are ready to take their test.”
You can watch The Devil Wears Prada 2 for FREE across Leeds
Thomas Melia
Did you know you can watch The Devil Wears Prada 2 for free across Leeds just by taking a quick trip to the shops?
If you’re eager to watch Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) and the Runway Magazine crew on the big screen once again, you can do so for free.
After making its cinema premiere earlier this month, 20 years since the first film, The Devil Wears Prada 2 continues the story with more iconic quotes and a whole host of celebrity cameos.
One of these is pop phenomenon Lady Gaga, who also appears on the soundtrack for this stylish sequel alongside artists like Miley Cyrus, Doechii, and Brit acts Raye and Olivia Dean.
Just like real life, the story follows the real-life fashion news outlet and media brand, Runway Mag, undergoing some major changes.
For instance, they’re wrestling with scrapping print editions of their beloved publication and swapping this for online short-form content.
The sequel to this fashion-focused film also sees role reprisals from Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt, with new additions from Lucy Liu, Kenneth Branagh and Justin Theroux.
Now, enough of us talking at “a glacial pace”, let’s get all of you fashion fans those free cinema tickets before they go out of style.
An all-new promotion courtesy of not one, but three notable names: The Devil Wears Prada 2, Diet Coke and Sainsbury’s
The UK Supermarket chain is currently running a promotion during the film’s big-screen run, where if you purchase a 30-pack of Diet Coke, you can get free tickets to The Devil Wears Prada 2.
Simply purchase one of the big crates of Diet Coke between Wednesday, 29 April and Tuesday, 19 May, before snapping a picture of your receipt and uploading it online.
So it really is that simple, all you have to do is buy a 30 pack of Diet Coke and get a free cinema ticket for doing so – did somebody say girl maths?
For more info and to upload your receipt, visit the promotional website HERE.
The Hoot -
6th April 2021 
