A range of innovative projects to tackle litter louts in local communities have been awarded funding by the government, Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey has announced today (9 March 2018).

The first round of funding sees a number of councils, charities, businesses, and public projects awarded almost £125,000 to take innovative steps to tackle littering in their communities.

The successful projects include developing bins to prevent seagulls from scattering litter on beaches and working with river users to reduce plastic getting into rivers, helping to tackle the issue of litter getting into our marine environment.

The funding builds on the Government’s wider Litter Strategy for England, as well as the recent launch of the 25 Year Environment Plan setting out how Government will protect and enhance our natural environment.

Welcoming the new projects, Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said:

We want to be the first generation to leave our environment in a better state than we found it and these innovative new projects will help reduce the amount of litter which so often plagues our streets, parks, countryside, rivers and marine environment.

We have all seen the damaging effects that litter can have on wildlife and the environment, and I encourage people to do their bit, take responsibility for their litter and recycle more.

Communities Minister Rishi Sunak said:

The Litter Innovation Fund is part of our wider strategy to deliver a substantial reduction in litter and littering while leaving a cleaner, greener and tidier environment for the next generation.

I am looking forward to seeing these projects supporting that strategy while helping communities make a real difference in their area.

Government has recently announced a range of new measures to tackle waste including proposals to extend the 5p plastic bag charge to small retailers and introducing a ban on plastic microbeads.

Keeping the country’s streets clean cost local Government almost £700 million last year. Much of this is avoidable litter, and money that could be better spent in the community. Despite this, a worrying 1 in 5 people admit to dropping litter.

A second round of applications will be launched shortly.

• The Litter Innovation Fund was set up as part of the Government’s Litter Strategy for England which was launched in April 2017 as is administered by the sustainability not-for-profit charity WRAP. A total of £450,000 is available for funding to local projects.

• Applications are assessed consistently and against published criteria.

• The funding is evenly provided by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and the Department for Communities and Local Government and funding awarded is limited to a maximum of £10,000 per project. Projects much also secure match finding.

• The cost of £682m in 2016/17 for street cleaning is from Official local Government returns to DCLG.

• Research on one in five admitting to having dropped litter in the past is from Keep Britain Tidy – Litter Droppers Segmentation research (2010).

A vehicle belonging to an organised gang operating in South East England has been seized by the Environment Agency and Thames Valley Police, as part of an ongoing waste crime investigation. The vehicle is believed to be linked to the operation of an illegal waste site in the Maidenhead area.

The seizure, which took place last week, comes as the Environment Agency and the police move forward in their investigation to capture those responsible for occupying land unlawfully and accepting tonnes of waste, often from unsuspecting sources, leaving behind the rubbish to be cleared at the expense of the landowner or taxpayer.

Illegal waste crime drains the UK economy of £1 billion each year in clean-up costs and lost tax revenues. It has a devastating effect on the environment and local communities with pest infestations and fires, which could lead to water and land contamination plus air pollution from smoke.

Nick Daykin, Environment Agency Enforcement Team Leader, said:

This is a great result in an ongoing investigation with Thames Valley Police to apprehend a group of unscrupulous individuals. The power to seize vehicles is a relatively new and is now an important weapon in our armoury for disrupting this type of criminal activity. This is a big message to the criminal fraternity: you set up site yesterday, we will have one of your vehicles off the road today and we will do it again tomorrow!

Using illegal waste dealers may seem tempting in terms of cost, but it can help fund organised crime. Everyone has a responsibility for their own waste and if your waste is found at an illegal site you could be facing fines of up to £5,000. To avoid this, we encourage members of the public and local businesses to ask their waste carrier for proof of their Waste Carrier’s Registration and to ask to see a ‘waste transfer note’ and if possible take a photo of it on their phone.

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Sir Robert Burgess has been reappointed as a member of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) for a second 3-year term to end in November 2021.

Jeanne Watson has been reappointed for an additional 1-year term to end in October 2018.

School Teachers’ Review Body

The STRB provides independent advice to the government on pay and conditions for teachers and school leaders in England and Wales.

Appointments process

The reappointments have been made in line with the Governance Code on public appointments.

Biographies

Sir Robert Burgess

Sir Robert was the Vice Chancellor of the University of Leicester until September 2014. He previously held a number of roles at the University of Warwick, including Senior Pro Vice Chancellor, Founding Director of the Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research (a cross faculty research centre), and Professor of Sociology.

He has had experience on several national committees, including the Board of the British Library and the Higher Education Academy Board. He is the Chair of GSM London’s Governing Body (GSM London provide industry led vocational business programmes) and Chair of the NatCen Social Research Board. He was knighted in 2010 for services to higher education locally and nationally.

Jeanne Watson

Jeanne Watson was a secondary headteacher for 22 years. Her experience includes 16 years as the headteacher of The Brooksbank School in Calderdale, an 11 to 18 academy, as well as 2 positions as the Executive Headteacher in schools requiring support. Jeanne has also worked as the Chair of Calderdale Secondary Heads Association with responsibility for school-to-school improvement, and she has extensive experience of partnership working, headteacher training and local authority management.