About
The Environmental Protection Act 1990 (the Act) imposes a duty on local authorities and certain other landowners and occupiers (the duty bodies) to keep specified land clear of litter and refuse so far as is practicable. The Act also places a duty on local authorities or Scottish Ministers to keep public roads clean so far as is practicable. This publication provides practical guidance on the discharge of these duties.
This Code of Practice is issued under
Section 89(7) of the Act. Where land is defaced by litter or refuse and action is taken in court under
Section 91 or
Section 92 of the Act, this Code of Practice is admissible in evidence in the proceedings.
The Code of Practice defines standards of cleanliness which are achievable in different locations and under differing circumstances. It is concerned with how clean land is, rather than how often it is swept. The Code of Practice does not, therefore, suggest cleaning frequencies. Rather, it sets out how quickly different types of land should be returned to a set cleanliness standard.
In addition, the Code of Practice provides guidance on ensuring litter management is approached in an holistic manner, tackling service provision, awareness raising and campaigning, and enforcement. Advice is given in a menu of options for tackling litter problems in a variety of areas, from town centres to beaches. An holistic approach to litter management has a range of benefits for service providers, the public, the business community and enforcement agencies:
- each knows what to expect of service providers and what is expected of them in turn,
- each duty body knows the minimum level of service required and their own individual obligations.
Following this review,
Keep Scotland Beautiful was commissioned to co-ordinate the updating of the Code of Practice. This process involved a year-long consultation exercise with all Scottish local authorities and other duty bodies, as well as enforcement bodies, other interested parties and bodies that could, potentially, have duties under the code.
In the main, the standards of cleanliness, zoning and response times remain unchanged, although the information relating to non-local authority duty bodies has been clarified. Part II now includes information relating to education, campaigning and, specifically, enforcement options.
This Code of Practice is issued in replacement of the Code of Practice 1999, which is hereby withdrawn in respect of Scotland.
Keep Scotland Beautiful is an operating name of Environmental Campaigns (Scotland). Scottish Charity Number SC030332.
