Tobacco companies may have to pay for the litter created by cigarettes under plans being explored by ministers to protect the environment and save local councils money.

The move comes after fresh evidence reveals that cleaning up littered cigarette butts currently costs UK local authorities around £40 million per year. Despite smoking rates being at their lowest recorded level, cigarette filters continue to be the most commonly littered item in England.

Among the options being looked at by Ministers is a regulatory extended producer responsibility scheme for cigarette butts in England, a new power currently being legislated for in the Environment Bill. This would require the tobacco industry to pay the full disposal costs of tobacco waste products, ensuring the sector takes sufficient financial responsibility for the litter its products create.

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said:

Cigarette butts are a blight on our communities, littering our streets or ending up washed down the drain and polluting our rivers and oceans.

We must all take action to protect our environment. We are committed to making sure that the tobacco industry plays its part. That is why we are exploring how cigarette companies can be held fully accountable for the unsightly scourge of litter created by their products.

Public Health Minister Jo Churchill said:

We are making excellent progress in our ambition to be a smoke-free country by 2030, with smoking rates at a record low.

While this is making a substantial impact on the public health of the country, the environmental impact of smoking due to cigarette butt and package littering is still a major issue.

We will continue to look into further ways we can reduce the burden tobacco has on our health and our streets, both through the tobacco control plan, due to be published later this year, and the Environment Bill.

The best action anyone can take is to quit and to help you do that there is plenty of support and advice available.

According to Keep Britain Tidy research, smoking related litter is the most prevalent form of litter in England, making up 68% of all littered items and found on around 80% of surveyed sites.

The vast majority of cigarette butts are single-use plastic and contain hundreds of toxic chemicals once smoked. Littered cigarette filters can persist in the environment for many years and release these chemicals to air, land and water, harming plant growth and wildlife.

As set out in the Litter Strategy for England, the most effective way to tackle smoking related litter is by reducing the prevalence of smoking in the first place. The Government is committed to addressing the harms from smoking and will publish a new tobacco control plan for England later this year to deliver its ambition of a smoke-free country by 2030.

The Environment Bill will allow us to legislate for extended producer responsibility schemes, which could be applied to tobacco products. Cigarette and tobacco product packaging is already covered by the proposed packaging producer responsibility scheme, which is currently undergoing a second phase of consultation.

At the September roundtable on Smoking Related Litter, Minister Pow encouraged parties to consider whether a non-regulatory producer responsibility scheme could be developed for tobacco waste products. Having considered further evidence, the Government has decided that a regulatory approach may be required to ensure that the industry takes sufficient financial responsibility for the litter created by its products and to prevent them from undermining public health policy.

Further research will be undertaken to consider the next steps to tackle smoking-related litter. The Government will continue to work closely with charities, tobacco product manufacturers and associated trade bodies to address the issue.

The announcement forms the latest step in the Government’s fight against single-use plastics to protect our environment and clean up our oceans. In its war against plastic pollution, the Government has already banned microbeads in rinse-off personal care products and prohibited the supply of plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds in England. The highly successful charge on single-use plastic bags will be expanded to all retailers and increased to 10p from April, and a world-leading plastic packaging tax will be introduced from April 2022 for products which do not have at least 30% recycled content. Last week, we outlined our next steps to introduce a deposit return scheme to incentivise consumers to recycle more.

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Sanjiv Varma (57) and Jonathan England (48), were directors of property firm Grosvenor Property Developers Ltd. The company sold student accommodation in Bristol off-plan and collected more than £7.7million from investors between February 2017 and January 2018.

The student accommodation, however, was never completed by Grosvenor Property Developments and investors applied for the liquidation of the company in November 2018.

Grosvenor Property Developers was wound-up in court on 14 November 2018 and the Official Receiver was appointed as liquidator, which triggered investigations into the conduct of the directors of the property firm.

Enquiries established that funds were diverted into accounts belonging to or companies connected to Sanjiv Varma. £3.1million was paid to another company in Dubai also owned by the director.

Sanjiv Varma used at least £1.3million to fund travel, gifts and designer clothing.

Investigators also found that planning permission was never applied for and titles to the property were never acquired by Grosvenor Property Developers.

Sanjiv Varma has been banned as a company director for 13 years, while his fellow director, Jonathan England, has been disqualified for 12 years.

In their undertakings to the Secretary of State, the directors did not dispute that they caused and/or allowed Grosvenor Property Developers Ltd to misappropriate investor deposits of more than £6.5million.

Both bans were effective from 22 February 2021 and the pair are banned from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.

Karen Maxwell, Deputy Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Sanjiv Varma and Jonathan England fabricated an extensive renovation project to create student accommodation in Bristol, taking large deposits from investors with the promise of a high quality asset.

“Instead, Sanjiv Varma took millions from the company and Jonathan England did nothing to stop his co-director from spending their funds on international flights and designer clothing. Both have now been disqualified as company directors for a significant time period.”

Sanjiv Varma is of no fixed address and his date of birth is March 1964.

Jonathan England is from London and his date of birth is December 1972.

Grosvenor Property Developers Ltd (Company Number 10528987) Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of restrictions.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

Colin Gerrard Taylor (47), from Kenilworth in Warwickshire, was the director of Godiva Environmental Solutions Ltd, a scaffolding company based in Coventry.

The company ceased trading in May 2020 after suffering financial difficulties and was voluntarily wound up in June 2020.

Colin Taylor, however, was liable for personal guarantees he had given against company debts but could not repay them. The scaffolder applied for his own bankruptcy in July 2020 declaring debts totalling more than £1.8million.

As Trustee of Colin Taylor’s bankruptcy, the Official Receiver investigated the scaffolder’s affairs and found that, prior to his bankruptcy, Colin Taylor made substantial cash withdrawals.

From February 2020 until his bankruptcy in July 2020, Colin Taylor paid £77,500 to an unlicensed money lender, more than £60,000 was transferred to family members and he lost £5,000 gambling.

Bankrupts are usually put under restrictions for 12 months. But due to Colin Taylor’s spending prior to his bankruptcy, the Official Receiver determined that the scaffolder was a risk to future creditors and sought to apply for additional restrictions.

Following the investigation, Colin Taylor signed a bankruptcy restriction undertaking acknowledging that he entered into transactions, whilst insolvent, which were to the detriment of his creditors. The undertaking came into effect on 3 March 2021 and for 4 years he is subject to further restrictions, including being banned from becoming a company director or managing a company and not borrowing more than £500 without informing the lender of his BRU.

Karen Fox, Deputy Official Receiver at the Insolvency Service, said: “Colin Taylor owed £1.8million at the time of his bankruptcy but despite this, he spent significant funds on family members, gambling and paying an illegal money lender.

“His reckless actions denied his creditors money he owed them. This type of behaviour is totally unacceptable and we will not hesitate to take further action against bankrupts who do not treat their creditors fairly.”

Anyone with information to assist with the tracing and recovery of assets of Colin Taylor should contact the appointed trustee: Gilbert John Lemon of Smith & Williamson LLP, Portwall Place, Portwall Lane, Bristol, BS1 6NA or 0117 376 2000.

Colin Gerrard Taylor is of Kenilworth and his date of birth is March 1974

Details of Colin Gerrard Taylor’s BRU is available on the Individual Insolvency Register:

Bankruptcy restrictions are wide ranging. The effects are the same whether you are subject to a bankruptcy restrictions order or to an undertaking. Guidance on the main statutory consequences flowing from a bankruptcy restrictions order or undertaking.

Information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on: