Legally speaking, the word litter is given a wide interpretation. Litter can be:
- as small as a sweet wrapper
- as large as a bag of rubbish, or
- it can mean lots of items scattered about
Litter and dog waste bins
Cornwall Council provide over 4,700 litter/dog waste bins across Cornwall.
These are regularly emptied and should never be overflowing so there is no excuse for rubbish to become litter.
- Use the new dual purpose black bins for any type of litter including dog waste.
- Only use the old style red dog waste bins for dog waste.
- Private landowners who provide their own bins are responsible for emptying them.
Report a full litter or dog waste bin
Is litter really that bad?
Litter looks horrible, it spoils our environment and quality of life:
- Research shows that high levels of litter can deter economic activity and investment.
- Litter and graffiti can help create a poor image of local neighbourhoods. This can lead to an increased fear of crime.
- Litter can affect people's health by attracting animals and insects that carry diseases.
- Litter can also be hazardous to wildlife. This is particularly an issue at the seaside. Litter can get tangled in or ingested by fish, mammals and other wildlife.
Report litter on a street or beach that needs cleaning
If you see someone drop litter
You are within your rights to ask someone to pick up litter if you see them dropping it, but please ensure your personal safety is not put at risk. The same applies if you see litter thrown from cars.
Fined for dropping litter
We want to encourage local people not to drop litter and instead help keep the environment clean. We want to achieve a litter-free county and enforcing the law is an important part of achieving this aim. Authorised officers can issue fixed penalty notices of £150 for littering offences. Failure to pay may result in a prosecution before a Magistrates Court with a fine of up to £2,500.
New litter and dog waste bins
Installing and servicing a new bin is very costly and we are not currently installing any extra bins on the land we own or manage. Often a new bin will not stop people dropping their litter or dog waste in the area.
If a specific area becomes littered please contact us. Our officers will monitor the area to ensure cleansing standards are maintained.
If a bin is frequently vandalised we may need to conduct a review before we put a replacement bin at that specific location again.
