Littering fines have generated nearly £100,000 in revenue for councils across Cambridgeshire since the start of 2023, new figures have revealed. Local authorities in the county have issued 889 fixed penalty notices for littering, according to Freedom of Information requests made by the BBC.
Most of those fines were issued by Cambridge City Council, which received about £83,000 from littering penalties, or 86% of the county total. Harry Machin, a volunteer litter picker in Peterborough, said other councils could learn from Cambridge.
Cambridge City Council has consistently issued more fines than other authorities in Cambridgeshire, although the number has been falling. The council issued 776 of the county's 889 fines, including 374 in 2023, 271 in 2024, 82 in 2025, and 49 so far this year.
By contrast, Peterborough City Council has issued 45 fines since 2023. The BBC asked the councils about fines for littering but not fly-tipping, which the authority previously said had more than doubled last year.
South Cambridgeshire, East Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Fenland councils have handed out 33, 22, seven and six littering fines respectively.
The fines have generated the following revenue for each council:
Cambridge City Council: £83,460
South Cambridgeshire District Council: £6,720
East Cambridgeshire District Council: £3,601
Peterborough City Council: £1,200
Fenland District Council: £1,000
Huntingdonshire District Council: £900
Across the county, 35 people have been prosecuted for littering since 2023, including 19 in Cambridge. The number of prosecutions in Peterborough rose from one in 2024 to seven in 2025, and the city council has brought four prosecutions so far this year.
"It's good to see action being taken," said Machin, founder of the Peterborough Litter Wombles group.
"I think [other councils] would be keen to learn from Cambridge's good practice."
Volunteers in Peterborough have paid for and installed their own bins to help curb littering. Harry Machin is the founder of the Peterborough Litter Wombles group.
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