Litter
Litter is a blight on Wiltshire, and we spend more than £2m cleaning it up each year.
We take responsibility for the environment, and as such reducing litter and making the county a nicer, cleaner place to live is a key priority for us.
Report a litter hotspot
If you see a high volume of litter or you spot someone dropping litter in Wiltshire's private or public land, parks, roads or rivers, report the offender to us.
Our street cleaning teams pick up litter and empty litter bins on a regular basis.
Some of the council's responsibility for litter collection is delegated to town and parish councils, such as Salisbury, Trowbridge, Devizes, Pewsey, Chippenham and Bradford on Avon. In these areas, litter is the responsibility of the local town or parish council.
In areas we are responsible for, town centre bins are checked and emptied daily, with smaller areas done weekly or fortnightly:
- we provide a limited number of litter bins across the county
- litter bins are placed in identified high user areas
- town and parish councils can provide litter bins and collections in their areas
- dropping litter on private or public land, parks, pavements, roads and rivers, including cigarette butts and chewing gum is an offence and our enforcement officers can issue on-the-spot fixed penalty notices
- we will remove litter where present at an unacceptable level (according to the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse (opens new window))
- litter reports on high-speed roads and verges are responded to within the times set out MyWilts online reporting in the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse (opens new window). Where response times cannot be met due to health and safety and/or traffic management requirement, all reports submitted through the for litter picking will be closed on the system once reported, the work will then be scheduled in compliance with legislation
- we will undertake random proactive inspections of areas and will remove any litter found that is at an unacceptable standard
- we will work with local businesses and communities to address litter issues
We undertake random proactive inspections and will remove detritus that is of an unacceptable standard where present; refer to the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse (opens new window) for further information.
Dog mess is classed as litter and our enforcement officers can issue on-the-spot fixed penalty notices to offenders.
Dog owners must, by law, pick up any mess made by their pets in public places such as roads, footpaths, school playing fields, sports fields and parks.
To report dog fouling please email dogs@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window) or log as an issue at MyWilts online reporting. We will only attend sites where a number of deposits of dog mess and/or litter are present at one location.
Fly-posting, as stated in the Town and Country Planning Regulations 2007, takes place when advertisements are displayed without the consent of the owner or occupier of the land or premises.
We take fly-posting seriously and will take enforcement action where we can. Please report any instances of fly-posting to us using MyWilts online reporting. All reports will be logged and we will investigate and take enforcement action. Depending on the incident, we can issue advice to offenders, warning letters, fixed penalty notices or prosecute.
If you are advertising a community event, such as a village fete, you must first contact the appropriate Local Highways team for approval:
- northernhighways@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window)
- westernhighways@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window)
- southernhighways@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window)
Applicants will need to give the reason for the signage, its location, how long it will be in place for, and the types of signage to be used so the application can be considered. To allow an assessment of the application the Local Highways team will need a minimum of four weeks' notice before the event.
You can help us to keep Wiltshire litter free by litter picking in your community. This could be on your daily walk or as part of a larger community clean up group. Share with us your success stories and perhaps a picture of you and the waste you have collected and tag us on @wiltscouncil (opens new window) on Twitter or Our Wiltshire (opens new window) on Facebook and we'll share the best pictures.
We can support local communities to set up their own litter collection initiatives, by loaning equipment or collecting the bagged waste following an event. This can be done via our dedicated Community Engagement Manager, who can be contacted at wiltshirehelpdesk@idverde.co.uk (opens new window). More than 1,500 litter pickers and 1,500 pairs of gloves have so far been donated to local town and parish councils, with over 100 events supported in 2023.
Please note: in the Salisbury and Amesbury areas the UKHSA remains 'if you didn't drop it, then don't pick it up', so you should not take part in litter picks in these areas.
Litter action (opens new window) and Keep Britain Tidy (opens new window) offer a lot of information on organising community events and campaigns:
- one person should take overall responsibility
- decide on a suitable day, we suggest the pick should last around two hours
- choose a location and contact the landowner; for council land, email wiltshirehelpdesk@idverde.co.uk (opens new window) and ask the Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager (SEPM) for support
- the Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager (SEPM) will register the event with the council
- publicise the event locally
- obtain insurance; ask your parish council if they have public liability insurance. If you are unable to obtain public liability insurance, contact the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (opens new window).
Bags can be disposed of within a public litter bin provided the bin is not already full.
For large events where you think there will be more than 10 black bags full of waste, we can arrange a single collection following the event. To arrange for a collection of waste, please email wiltshirehelpdesk@idverde.co.uk (opens new window) with full details of the litter pick and your contact details, giving a minimum of 10 days' notice.
Where possible, please dispose of the bagged waste in regular household black bins.
Do:
- safety is paramount; ensure a risk assessment is carried out prior to any event
- focus your efforts within residential areas and open spaces. Working on the highways comes with significant risk and should be left to the experts
- do report litter on the highway via MyWilts online reporting and the area will be inspected and actioned accordingly
- wear appropriate footwear for the activity and consider other PPE such as gloves and hi-vis jackets
- where possible, participate in pairs
Do not:
- do not pick up anything that looks suspicious or dangerous (unknown chemicals/sharps/broken glass etc) these should be reported at MyWilts online reporting
- any large items should be left where they are, and reported at MyWilts online reporting; suspected fly-tips will be investigated and by removing these items you may remove possible evidence which could later lead to a prosecution
- do not take part in litter picks in the Salisbury and Amesbury areas, as the UKHSA remains 'if you didn't drop it, then don't pick it up'.
Graffiti is the illegal placing of words or pictures that are drawn, painted, written or carved on walls and other surfaces. Our enforcement officers can issue on-the-spot fixed penalty notices and will report offenders to the police.
Graffiti will be categorised on whether it is offensive or non-offensive:
- If the graffiti is of an offensive nature, then we will look to remove it. if this is not possible, then it will be obscured by either over-painting or via another suitable method within an accelerated timeframe.
- If the graffiti is of a non-offensive nature, this can be removed through the Parish Steward scheme. The Parish Steward tasks are prioritised by the town or parish council and therefore the completion time will be influenced by them.
Where graffiti is on private property it is the responsibility of the owner to remove and is a planning enforcement issue or Amenity Enforcement issue.
We will take steps to remove or obscure graffiti on any council owned property.
To report graffiti on utility owned sub stations, please contact the utility company:
- Scotia Gas Networks (opens new window) - 0845 070 1431
- Wales & West Utilities (opens new window) - 0870 165 0597
- BT (opens new window) - 0800 023 2023
- SSE (opens new window) - 0345 070 7373
We will collect needles and syringes left lying on our land.
- please do not touch anything you find, as it could be dangerous
- please make a note of its location and report it immediately
- needles and syringes on the highway or amenity land will be cleared when reported as an emergency response
- we operate a sharps box collection service for people who need regular collection of needles used at home for medical purposes
We do not collect discarded sharps from privately owned land.
It is the responsibility of the landowner to have them safely disposed of. There are a number of companies who specialise in the collection and disposal of hazardous waste.
Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of waste and is a criminal offence. Fly-tippers can be fined up to £50,000 (this amount is unlimited if convicted in a Crown Court) and even be sent to prison for up to five years.
- We're targeting fly-tippers to combat environmental crime - find out more about our Fly-tipping campaign.
- Report fly-tipping through MyWilts online reporting