If an individual is caught littering in Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole, an enforcement officer from Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement (WISE) will serve a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) of £150, which will be reduced to £75 if paid within 14 days.

WISE has been awarded the contract to carry out littering enforcement across the BCP area.

The contract is cost-neutral to the council. It will see a percentage of each fine issued paid to BCP Council to be reinvested into littering prevention services.

FPNs can be issued for dropping litter of any kind, including sweet wrappers, crisp packets, chewing gum, cigarette butts and discarded items from vehicles.

Councillor Bobbie Dove, Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Regulatory Services, said: “This new approach is a direct and proactive response to the feedback we’ve received from residents who are tired of seeing people littering in this beautiful part of the country. Littering is a crime, and I’m saddened that a small minority of people think it is acceptable to drop litter across our town and district centres, greenspaces and beaches.

“We know more about our impact on the environment than ever before, and that’s why we must take a stronger stance to protect our local area. We know that small items of rubbish, like crisp packets and plastic bottles, take decades to decompose and leave toxins in the ground for many years after. We need to protect the BCP region for future generations, so we hope that issuing fines will be a strong deterrent to those who think it acceptable to drop litter.”

BCP Council already works in partnership with WISE to carry out its flyposting and flytipping enforcement, so this will see an extension to that pilot scheme to include littering fines for individuals. Since the commencement of the initial pilot scheme in August 2021, WISE have issued over 990 FPNs relating to environmental crimes across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

Councillor Bobbie Dove, continued: “I’m pleased and proud of this council for taking forward this proposal, which already builds on the fantastic work being done by our partners at WISE.

“We’re absolutely clear; your waste is your duty. We must all take responsibility and do the right thing and use litter bins if available or take our rubbish home with us. This problem is region wide, not just isolated to our town centres, and that’s why WISE have powers to patrol any public land across our region.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all those in the community who volunteer for localised litter picks across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. It is appreciated by us all, but such a shame that such a small number of people think that it is someone else’s responsibility to tidy up after them. We hope that introducing fines will have a positive impact in reducing litter across the BCP area.”

John Dunne, Managing Director, WISE, said: “We’re delighted to be able to extend our services to support BCP Council in tackling litter crime here in this beautiful part of Dorset.

“Dropping litter is not only anti-social, it is a crime. Our company’s proven track record shows that we do have a positive impact and our officers are proud of the work they do in deterring people from flytipping, flyposting and littering.”

The new initiative will see littering patrols carried out across the region from Monday 20 March.