Coventry has a zero-tolerance policy toward people who drop litter, which includes litter thrown from vehicles. We have a team of officers who carry out regular patrols, issuing fixed penalty fines of £100 to offenders.
Our aim is to reduce litter through enforcement and education.
Support for community litter pickers
If you are a member of a residents’ / community group or a school and want to arrange a clean-up in your area we can:
- Provide litter pickers and bags
- Arrange collection of the bags
- Provide talks
To arrange this please contact the Streetscene and Green Spaces team, telephone 08085 834333 [tel:08085834333] or email cswhitley@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:cswhitley@coventry.gov.uk].
Penalties
It is an offence to drop litter and walk away. This also includes littering from a vehicle.
The offence is a criminal offence that, upon conviction, carries a fine of up to £2500. Officers can give out fixed penalty tickets, currently £100, with a reduction for fast payment to £50.
The fixed penalty must be paid within 20 days (14 days to obtain the reduced rate). Failure to pay the fine in time will lead to prosecution, which means people will have a criminal record as well as a fine.
How to pay a fixed penalty for littering
Payments can be made using our secure online payment facility 24 hours a day; 7 days a week, with a credit or debit card [/onlinepayments].
How to report littering
Report incidents of littering [/reportstreetcleansing]
If you see litter being thrown from a vehicle and are prepared to make a formal witness statement we may be able to take action against the offender.
The information we need is:
- Vehicle registration, make, colour
- Type of litter
- Who dropped the litter - was it the driver, front or rear passenger, description of the offender
- Location, date and time of incident
Customer Services
Open 9amâ5pm Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). If you do need to call us, please try to avoid our busiest times of lunchtime and early afternoon. Many queries relating to Council Tax, benefits or bin and bulky waste collections can be dealt with directly by logging into My Account.
Bird feeding
We would always encourage people to feed the birds, especially during the colder months of the year when natural food sources are scarce. However, where possible please feed them in your own garden, using the correct feed and in moderation, as excessive feeding will attract rats.
There are specific areas of the city where we do not permit people to feed the birds. Please look out for signs stating that bird feeding is forbidden. People caught feeding birds in these areas will receive fixed penalty notices for littering.
The areas that currently have 'No feeding the birds' signs are:
- City centre including:
- Bull Yard
- Shelton Square
- Market Way
- Smithford Way
- The Precinct
- Broadgate Square
- Holy Trinity Church and the surrounding area
- Berry Street opposite St Mary and Benedict’s School.
- Quinton Pool
- Riley Square
- Pocket Park Hill Street
- Hillfields Square
- Edgewick Park- Foleshill Road
- Station street west pocket park - Station West Park
- Silverton Road/Crabmill Lane
- Cash's Park
- Longford Park
- Priors Harnall
- Cawthorne Close
- Hartlepool Road
Where we encounter excessive bird feeding in other public spaces, where warning signs are not in place, we will ask people to stop. Anyone who continues or returns later will be issued with a fixed penalty notice for littering.
Customer Services
Open 9amâ5pm Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). If you do need to call us, please try to avoid our busiest times of lunchtime and early afternoon. Many queries relating to Council Tax, benefits or bin and bulky waste collections can be dealt with directly by logging into My Account.