Keeping our streets clean

Dropping litter is a criminal offence in Scotland. It has a huge impact in Edinburgh - financially in cleaning it up, environmentally as it pollutes our rivers and watercourses and socially as it's unsightly and attracts rats and vermin.

If you drop litter you could receive a fixed penalty fine of £50, if this is not paid, the fine can increase and a report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.

Where a litter problem can be clearly traced to certain types of business, such as takeaway food premises, the local authority can issue a Street Litter Control Notice. This makes the owner responsible for keeping the front of the premises, plus a reasonable distance either side, clear of litter.

If certain kinds of private land to which the public has access, such as supermarket car parks, are badly littered the local authority can declare them a Litter Control Area. The owner or occupier of the land is then under a duty to clear the land and keep it free of litter.