Environmental Enforcement Action

Littering & Dog Foul

Burnley Council have a responsibility under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to act as the litter authority for the borough. This responsibility applies to all Council-owned land and includes: street cleaning, litter collection, the removal of detritus, fly-posting, graffiti and fly-tipping.

The legal powers that enable Burnley Council to issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs).

Our robust approach to enforcement activities is as a result of the Council’s customer satisfaction survey 2020, where 61% of residents stated that littering was a problem. Unfortunately, a minority of people still think it’s acceptable to throw litter and not pick up after their dog. We will continue to catch those who undertake environmental crime.

Legislation used

The Council has powers to issue FPNs from a number of areas including the:

Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN)

A Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) is a penalty payment for committing an environmental crime. There are no formal grounds of appeal against an FPN; it is an invitation for you to discharge your liability to prosecution.

Our Environmental Enforcement Officers, from our strategic partner Local Authority Support (LAS), will continue to issue Fixed Penalty Notices to individuals caught committing environmental crimes. Paying the FPN stops the penalty from progressing to a registered fine or conviction in some circumstances.

Our team of Environmental Enforcement Officers wear Body Worn Cameras, which will only be switched on when approaching people to issue fines and record conversations. The Officers also advise people that they are being recorded.

Environmental crimes that can receive an FPN

Littering: £80

Dropping litter anywhere is an offence. Litter is everything from food packaging to cigarette butts, chewing gum and bags of rubbish left out on the backstreet.

Dog fouling: £100

If your dog fouls in a public place and you fail to pick it up, it is an offence.

Dog Control: £100

If you take your dog into a children’s play area or anywhere stated in the Council’s Public Space Protection Order, it is an offence.

Click for more information about Public Space Protection Order.

Failing to pay the fine may make you liable to conviction for the offence

Appealing an FPN

You cannot appeal an FPN. If you dispute that you committed the offence and do not pay the FPN, the Council will commence prosecution proceedings and you will be provided with a court date where you will be able to plead your case to the Magistrates Court.

If you are unsure why the FPN has been issued or if you have any mitigating circumstances regarding the FPN you received, then please write to the following address:

burnley.council@lasupport.com

Or telephone 0800 781 6229

The Council will prosecute unpaid FPNs

Please be aware that the Council is taking a ‘no-nonsense’ approach to environmental crime and will prosecute defendants who do not pay their FPNs.

How to ensure you don’t receive an FPN for littering

Place all litter that you generate in one of the many litter bins provided by the Council across the borough. However, please be aware that it is not feasible for the Council to place litter bins on every street, road and highway across the borough, as this would not be practical or affordable. The Council is making every effort to place litter bins across the borough where they are needed. Where bins are not available, then it is up to residents to act responsibly and carry your litter to a bin or take your litter home.

Side Waste

Do not leave bags of waste to the side or on top of your wheelie bin on collection day, Burnley Council does not permit side waste of any type. Enforcement Officers regularly patrol the streets of Burnley, and will issue an FPN or prosecute anyone caught presenting waste incorrectly.

Cigarette butts

Improperly discarded cigarette butts is littering and you can be issued with an FPN for not disposing of your cigarette butts correctly. Care should be taken to avoid any risk of fire and cigarette butts should be completely extinguished before the butt is placed in the bin. On certain litter bins across the borough, primarily in the town centre, a ‘butt plate’ is provided where the cigarette can be fully extinguished before placing in the bin.

Disposing of dog fouling to avoid an FPN

Please also be aware that you can place dog foul in any litter bin across the borough once it has been bagged, not only the designated dog fouling bins.

How can I support this work?

Residents are encouraged to report in areas that they feel would benefit from a patrol, or any information that will assist in keeping our borough free from littering and dog fouling.