What the Clean Streets Enforcement Campaign is about, how much you could get fined and how you can pay your fine.
What we're doing
We're working with environmental enforcement company 3GS to tackle environmental crimes in Bristol.
Environmental Enforcement Officers will patrol the city every day to cut down on environmental crime and increase environmental awareness.
If you're caught committing an environmental crime such as littering, you'll be given a fixed penalty notice charge (fine) on the spot. If you don't pay the fine it'll be transferred to a court prosecution process.
What is an 'environmental crime'
Environmental crime has a negative impact on our streets and costs tax payers and the council thousands of pounds each year.
Environmental crimes include:
- dropping litter on the street or from your vehicle: this includes chewing gum and cigarette butts
- graffiti: this includes painting or damaging a tree or any road signs
- flyposting
- flytipping
- nuisance parking
- not putting your domestic or pdf commercial waste (164 KB) out properly
- breach of a Community Protection Notice
- breach of Public Space Protection Orders, such as not clearing up your dogs' mess, not keeping your dog under control, taking a dog into an excluded area, such as an enclosed children's play area, drinking in a no-drinking area
What happens if you're stopped
If an enforcement officer sees you commit an environmental crime they'll ask for your name and address so they can issue you with a Fixed Penalty Notice (fine).
If you refuse to give your details, the officer will be able to use the information they've recorded on their body cameras. This information is often enough to identify someone.
If you refused to give your details, you may be taken to court and given a much larger fine:
- Up to £2,500 for the environmental crime
- Up to £1,000 for obstructing an authorised officer
How you can recognise the enforcement officers
The enforcement officers wear polo shirts with the 3GS logo on them, and the Bristol City Council emblem on their epaulettes. They also carry warrant cards to identify themselves.
Paying your fines
You'll need to pay your fine within 14 days.
If you pay your fine within 10 days, you'll only have to pay the reduced rate.
| Offence | Full fine | Reduced rate |
|---|---|---|
| Dropping litter in the street or from your vehicle | £150 | £75 |
| Dropping chewing gum and cigarette butts | £150 | £75 |
| Graffiti | £500 | – |
| Fly posting | £500 | – |
| Flytipping | £1,000 | £500 |
| Nuisance parking: parking two or more cars for sale on the road, non-emergency repairs to a vehicle on the road | £100 | – |
| Abandoned vehicle | £200 | – |
| Not putting your commercial waste out properly | £100 | – |
| Breach of household waste duty of care | £400 | – |
| Breach of Community Protection Notice | £100 | – |
| Commercial Waste Receptacles | £110 | – |
| Fail to produce Waste Transfer Notes | £300 | – |
| Fail to produce Waste Carriers Licence | £300 | – |
| Offence | Full fine | Reduced rate |
|---|---|---|
| Not clearing up your dogs mess | £100 | £60 |
| Not keeping your dog under control in a public area | £100 | £60 |
| Taking a dog into a excluded area: enclosed children's play areas | £100 | £60 |
| Drinking in a no-drinking area | £100 | £60 |
You can pay your fine:
- Online
- By phone: 0330 314 9705
You'll need your:
- Fixed Penalty Notice number
- Debit or credit card
If you don't pay your fine
If you don't pay your fine within 14 days, you could get taken to court. You could be fined up to £2,500 and you may get a criminal record.
Number of environmental crime cases prosecuted at court
- 2018: 563
- 2019: 317
- 2020: 399
- 2021: 651
- 2022: 499
- 2023: 319
How much this costs us
This service is funded by the fines that the enforcement officers bring in. That means that it won't cost the Bristol tax payer anything.
Any left over money will be used to tackle environmental issues in the city.
Why we're doing this
74% of people in Bristol think that litter is a problem in the city. Last year around 7,000 tonnes of waste was collected from the streets.
Picking up litter costs the city £6 million a year. This is money that could be better spent elsewhere.
Let us know about litter
You can report a street that needs cleaning if you see litter or any other mess in a public area.
Complaints and feedback
Make a complaint or give feedback about the Clean Streets Enforcement campaign.
Who has been fined?
Number of people
- March 2023: 492
- April 2023: 465
- May 2023: 311
- June 2023: 372
- July 2023: 313
- August 2023: 221
- September 2023:
- October2023: 436
- November 2023: 471
- December 2023: 456
- January 2024: 393
- February 2024: 344
- March 2024: 307
- April 2024: 285
- May 2024: 320
- June 2024: 471
- July 2024: 387
- August 2024: 435
- September 2024: 517
Gender:
- Female: 46.84 %
- Male: 53.16 %
Age range:
- 18: 1.74%
- 19: 2.97%
- 20 to 29: 37.29%
- 30 to 39: 26.18%
- 40 to 49: 13.58%
- 50 to 59: 8.71%
- 60 to 69: 0.53%
- Not known: 9.09%
About 3GS
3GS has taken over environmental enforcement in the city from Kingdom.
They're responsible for:
- patrolling and issuing Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) to reduce street offences, such as littering and dog fouling
- educating businesses and members of public about offences under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, such as littering and fly-tipping
3GS are using a fixed fee model. This means enforcement officers will earn a set amount from their patrolling duties. 3GS will use any extra funds from FPNs for education and promotional purposes.