Fixed Penalty Notices for environmental offences

No one likes to see rubbish on the streets. It makes our town look messy and dirty. To keep Reading clean and safe, from 15 September 2025 we will have a team of specialist officers who look out for people dropping litter or dumping rubbish.

What can you get fined for?

You can get a fine if you:

• Drop litter – this includes chewing gum, food wrappers, apple cores, banana skins, receipts or cigarette butts
• Dump rubbish (fly-tip) – this includes:
  • leaving rubbish bags or items on the street, pavement or other public areas
  • putting your domestic or trade waste in a public bin
  • getting someone without a licence to take away your rubbish
• Don’t use your bins correctly – this includes overfilling your bin, leaving rubbish next to your bin

Other things you could get fined for:

• Failure to produce a waste transfer note
• Failure to produce a waste carriers licence
• Selling multiple vehicles for sale on the same road
• Repairing vehicles on the road to make money
• Don’t follow a Community Protection Notice

Fixed penalty notice amounts

£500 for littering or graffiti
£600 for incorrect disposal of household waste
£1,000 for fly-tipping

What happens when you get an FPN?

The officer will give you a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). This is like a parking ticket but for environmental crimes.

• All the details about how to pay are on the notice
• You have 14 days to pay the fine
• You must pay the full amount – you can’t pay in instalments but you may be granted an extension

Appealing an FPN

There is no official way to appeal. If you feel you should not have been issued with an FPN you must make contact within 14 days of the notice being issued. You can use the contact details on the notice to explain why you think the fine is wrong.

If you pick up litter after the officer has seen you drop it, you will still get a fine.

If you don’t pay the fine and don’t think you did anything wrong, the case will go to court. A judge will then decide if you broke the law.

New enforcement officers

From 15 September 2025, we are working with a company called Kingdom Local Authority Support (KLAS) for a 12 month trial partnership. Their officers will work with our council officers to catch people dropping litter.

Things to know about the officers:

• They wear body cameras that record all interactions with the public
• The cameras protect both you and the officer
• They might talk to you on the street or at your door
• They don’t get paid more for giving out more fines
• If you want to complain about an officer, use the council’s complaints process
• Making a complaint doesn’t cancel your fine

Some people are protected from getting fines. The council decides who these people are based on government rules.