Extract from DEFRA’s Litter and littering in England 2016 to 2017. (12 February 2018)

The cost of keeping the streets clean

Litter doesn’t just cost the environment, it also costs us directly as the public has to pay for it to be cleaned up.

National (Official) statistics are published each year showing how local authorities have spent their money, including on activities such as street cleaning. The data is published by authority, as well as a national figure.

This data includes the cost of cleaning up litter, but also includes other activities such as emptying public bins, clearing natural detritus and removing fly-tipped waste from public land. It does not include the cost of removing litter from roads and other highways.

The indicator we are using for the dashboard is net current (ongoing) expenditure. This measures how much money councils are spending to clean up and deal with litter.

In 2016 to 2017 it cost local authorities £682 million or £29 per household to keep our streets clean. In addition Highways England spends at least £6 million a year on collecting litter from the Strategic Road Network.

Source: MHCLG data