On March 3, the government announced new guidance for councils to help tackle littering and seizing vehicles used for fly-tipping.

Under the new guidance instead of prosecuting, local authorities can issue fixed penalty notices between £65 and £500 for littering. The fine will include litter that is thrown from cars and will double if not paid within 28 days.

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For litter that is thrown from cars, if the person littering can not be identified then the owner of the vehicle will be held responsible.

Guidance for tackling fly-tipping was also issued to offer council clear instructions on identifying, seizing, and disposing of vehicles involved in fly-tipping, as well as advice on taking cases to court and securing convictions against vehicle owners.

The new guidance also calls on local authorities to share intelligence with the police, the Environment Agency and National Trading Standards to build cases and run joint operations.

The government has said it is making around £78billion available to council budgets in England this year. The money is part of the first multi-year funding settlement in over a decade to help pay for key responsibilities like fly-tipping.

New statistics show that local authorities carried out 572,000 enforcement actions in 2024/25, an increase of eight percent from the previous year. Of the enforcement actions issues in 2024/25, 69,000 of them were fixed penalty notices.

Councillor Kieron Wilson, BCP Council’s cabinet member for housing and regulatory services, said: “We welcome stronger powers and clearer guidance from the government that can help us continue to tackle littering and fly-tipping in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

“We know our residents want to live and work in clean neighbourhoods; fly‑tipping and littering place a financial burden on local taxpayers, damage our natural environment, and negatively affect the quality of life of our residents.

“Our teams are committed to using proportionate and effective enforcement to deter those who deliberately harm our area.

“We conduct routine patrols and targeted investigations that reflect our robust enforcement approach, which continues to deliver real results across BCP.

“We will consider how these new measures could complement our existing enforcement work and ask everyone to dispose of waste responsibly. “