Cleaner Greener and Safer Borough FAQ
Wigan Council is determined to make our Borough, Cleaner, Greener and Safer for all, this commitment acknowledges our responsibility for the quality of our local environment.
Enforcement action can vary from Fixed Penalty Notices, Cautions, Prosecutions etc, the action will depend on the seriousness of the offence and how easily it can be remedied.
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What are environmental crimes?
Environmental crimes include; dropping litter, allowing a dog to foul and not cleaning up, fly posting, graffiti, criminal damage, fly tipping etc.
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What happens if this is my first offence?
If this is your first offence you may be offered an opportunity to pay a Fixed Penalty Notice rather than being prosecuted. Fixed Penalties are only offered once if you commit a further offence you will be prosecuted.
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What if I give the wrong name or refuse to give my details?
If you do not give your details or you provide false details to an authorised officer you are guilty of a further offence. In such cases, failing to supply these details, or giving a false name and address to an authorised officer if prosecuted and convicted you could face a fine of £1,000.
Wigan Council will try to identify an offender by publishing a photograph or CCTV footage on the Wigan Council web site or local papers asking the community for help to identify you.
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Will I have a criminal record?
If you are prosecuted and convicted, you will have a criminal record.
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What is covered by the term ‘litter’?
The term litter covers ‘anything’, including cigarette butts, chewing gum, sweet papers, drinks can(s), fast food packaging, small bags, liquid, and till receipts. For example a litter notice could be issued to anyone urinating in a public place.
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What about apple cores or orange peel are they litter?
Yes, they are still litter even if they are biodegradable.
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What about things such as discarded food?
Again discarded food is still litter.
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Does the law apply to people throwing litter from moving cars?
Yes, drivers and passengers who throw litter from a car not only blight our neighbourhoods but also put other road users at risk. A lit cigarette thrown out of a window could end up inside a convertible car, paper thrown from a car could go on to a windscreen and block the drivers view or cover a motorcyclist visor.
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What about the advertiser whose poster it is?
The advertiser can also be convicted of an offence under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 Section 224
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What can the Council do to remove Fly Posting?
The council can remove fly posters from highway land immediately, without the need to give any notice.
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What happens to the money from these fines?
Wigan Council are allowed to keep the money from any fines and use them for environmental education, raising awareness and enforcement, we use the money to improve our neighbourhoods making them Cleaner, Greener and Safer for all.
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What if the individual is not the advertised business?
We can take enforcement action against the person who physically affixes the fly poster.
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There wasn’t a bin to put the litter in.
This isn’t a acceptable excuse, if you can’t find a bin take your litter home and dispose of it responsibly.
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What is Fly Posting?
There is no statutory definition. However it is generally accepted that it is the unlawful advertising of an event, service or business by affixing posters, signs, pictures, notices, etc to any permanent fixture such as a railing or a lamp-post, in or on the highway, or on a tree.
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What are the common forms of Fly Posting?
Most commonly, a poster is tied or fixed to a column or railing, or it is pasted on to a flat surface, such as on a disused building, waste bin, bus shelter, phone booth, or telephone company panel.
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What about marking the road surface?
Fly posting also includes marking the surface of the highway itself, by painting words on the surface of the road or pavement.
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What is graffiti?
Graffiti is an offence of criminal damage. It is often in the form of words or drawings that are written, painted, sprayed or scratched on to property owned by others.
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What can the Council do to remove graffiti?
The council is usually responsible for removing graffiti from public buildings, street furniture or monuments. Other surfaces such as telephone boxes, bus shelters and electricity boxes are the responsibility of the company that has placed them there.
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Can the Council remove graffiti from private property?
No the Council cannot remove graffiti from private households and other private property without the permission of the owner. The Council can however issue a notice requiring a property owner to remove graffiti within 28 days.
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