Litter crackdown brings in £1.13m as Lambeth issues over 10,000 environmental fines
Lambeth Council issued 10,689 environmental enforcement fines last year, with the vast majority relating to littering and generating more than £1.13 million in receipts, according to a new report going …
Black News 
Lambeth Council issued 10,689 environmental enforcement fines last year, with the vast majority relating to littering and generating more than £1.13 million in receipts, according to a new report going before councillors.
The figures are contained in an Environment Enforcement and Maintenance report to Lambeth’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which sets out how the borough tackles issues such as fly-tipping, graffiti, noise nuisance and food safety.
The report shows that 8,016 of the fines issued in 2024/25 were for littering offences, making it by far the largest category of environmental enforcement.
The fines brought in over £1.13 million, with enforcement carried out by a team of 12 out-sourced environmental enforcement officers at an estimated annual staffing cost of around £450,000.
Other enforcement activity generated far smaller amounts. Notices for highway obstruction produced £76,190 from 1,386 penalties, while unlicensed skips brought in £42,150 from 726 notices and street trading offences generated £48,240 from 604 notices.
By comparison, offences such as dog fouling and vehicle repairs on the highway produced only minimal enforcement income, the report notes.
The council’s environmental enforcement work covers a wide range of statutory responsibilities including littering, fly-tipping, commercial waste compliance, graffiti removal, food hygiene inspections and the regulation of noise nuisance.
Fly-tipping remains a major issue across the borough, with the report stating that the council investigated 4,232 incidents during the year, most of them occurring on residential streets rather than in town centres.
However, officers say enforcement action is often difficult because many fly-tipping incidents contain little or no evidence linking the waste to an individual offender.
The report stresses that environmental enforcement should not rely solely on penalties, warning that enforcement perceived as purely punitive or income-driven could undermine public confidence if not balanced with education and behaviour change measures.
Instead, the council says it aims to combine visible enforcement with preventative work and partnerships with other services to improve the borough’s streets and public spaces.
