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Sewers: Waste Disposal

Asked by Sir James CleverlyConservativeDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled Answered 13 November 2025UIN 88272

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2025 to Question 61182 on Litter: Codes of Practice, whether guidance has been given to local authorities on issuing fines under the Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for pouring liquids down a municipal drain.

Answered by Mary Creagh

Guidance to councils on the use of their fixed penalty powers for littering and related offences is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-on-litter-and-refuse.

The Government recently published a Pride in Place Strategy in which we committed to putting this guidance on a statutory footing and bringing forward equivalent enforcement guidance for fly-tipping. Fly-tipping is an offence under section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

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