Bradford drivers and passengers warned 'don't be a tosser' in new litter campaign

Bradford Council recently implemented new crackdown on littering in the district, with particular attention on people who throw their litter out of cars.

They include higher fines and measures to make it easier for people to report people tossing litter from cars.

And now a number of posters, featuring an eyebrow raising message have been installed across Bradford.

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The signs, on major roads in the District, feature an image of litter and the phrase “don’t be a tosser.”

The campaign is a partnership between Bradford Council and Keep Britain Tidy.

As well as blighting the streets and roadside verges of the District, litter thrown from vehicles can also be harmful to animals, including voles and shrews.

Over 100 people fined for littering from cars in past 10 months

In June the Council’s decision making Executive agreed to adopt tougher new rules which will make it easier to prosecute people who drop litter from vehicles.

The legislation means any litter dropped from a vehicle will be treated as the responsibility of the keeper of that vehicle, identified through the licence plate number.

One of the signs on Dick Lane

If the keeper cannot identify the actual person who dropped the litter, they then become liable for the offence and can be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice or prosecuted if they fail to pay up.

Under the previous rules the Council could only fine the person who actually dropped the litter - meaning it could be difficult to find the culprit if the car owner refused to co-operate with officers.

This led to many cases having to be dropped due to lack of evidence.

Recent research published by Keep Tidy Britain shows that a third of people do not know that the registered keeper or passenger of a vehicle can be fined if someone in their car or van throws rubbish out of it.

The ‘Don’t be a tosser’ campaign has been designed “to send a clear message to drivers and their passengers that our roads are not one giant litter bin” and that the owner of a vehicle or passenger can be fined up to £100 if rubbish is seen being thrown out of a car window.

As well as wrappers, take-away packaging and cans, litter also includes cigarette butts, chewing gum and biodegradable items such as apple cores.

Keep Britain Tidy Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton said: “The mindless act of tossing plastic bottles and fast food wrappers out of car windows is doing damage to our environment and our wildlife. Research published in one of Keep Britain Tidy’s Journal of Local Environmental Quality showed that millions of small mammals – voles and shrews – were dying after being enticed into bottles and cans thrown on to grass verges.”

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, executive member for Healthy People and Places said: “We need to get the message out there that tossing rubbish from vehicles is socially unacceptable.

“So we are pleased to be able to support the Keep Britain Tidy campaign which highlights that it doesn’t matter who threw the litter – we can issue fines to the registered keeper or passenger.

“I hope that it will help us to reduce the level of litter found at the roadside throughout the district.”

To report someone for littering visit: https://www.bradford.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/report-issues/form-litter-from-vehicle or email NSAdmin@bradford.gov.uk and a form will be sent to fill out.