September 22, 2026 - 153 views
Drivers and vehicle owners in North Wales could be affected by proposed new powers allowing councils to issue penalties when rubbish is thrown from a vehicle — even if the registered keeper was not behind the wheel at the time.
The Welsh Government is asking for views on whether responsibility should fall on the person a vehicle is registered to, rather than requiring councils to prove exactly who threw the litter.
The proposal is part of the Welsh Government's Rural Proofing and Environmental Sustainability White Paper, which includes wider changes to waste and environmental enforcement. The consultation closes on 14 October 2026.
Roadside litter is a particular issue on the North Wales road network, including the A55 and other busy routes linking communities along the coast and into rural areas.
Keep Wales Tidy's latest roadside survey data shows just how widespread the problem is across Wales. It found litter on 98.8% of A and B roads surveyed, while confectionery litter was found on 80.7% of main roads and fast-food litter on 67%.
The organisation says roadside litter is particularly difficult and potentially dangerous to remove because workers may have to operate close to fast-moving traffic.
That is particularly relevant to North Wales, where the A55 carries large volumes of traffic through communities including Colwyn Bay, Llandudno Junction, Conwy, Abergele and along the North Wales coast.
The Welsh Government has previously highlighted the cost and safety implications of clearing litter from trunk roads. A 2018 Welsh Government estimate found that six workers could cost more than £1,000 a night to clear litter from just two kilometres of trunk road and roadside, while a lane closure could cost more than £2,600 a night.
Responsibility for different parts of the North Wales network is split between councils and the Welsh Government's trunk road agencies. Traffic Wales currently provides a reporting system for litter on Wales's main A roads and motorways, while other roads are generally the responsibility of the relevant local authority.
In Conwy, throwing litter from a vehicle is already an offence. The council says anyone caught dropping litter can receive a £75 Fixed Penalty Notice, with a fine of up to £2,500 possible following a court conviction.
The difficulty is proving who actually dropped the item.
The proposed change would mean a vehicle's registered owner could potentially receive a penalty even where it has not been possible to establish who inside the vehicle threw the rubbish.
The issue is already visible at community level. Volunteers with the North Wales Wildlife Trust's Conwy Valley branch hold regular litter picks around Llandudno Junction, including roadside areas, while councils across North Wales provide equipment and support for community litter-picking through the Keep Wales Tidy network.
Keep Wales Tidy says its new GLÂN monitoring system is now providing a new national baseline for measuring litter and environmental quality. The organisation cautions that the 2025 data cannot be directly compared with earlier figures because GLÂN replaced the previous methodology.
The proposed vehicle penalties are only one part of the consultation. The Welsh Government is also seeking views on environmental enforcement and proposals including increasing the maximum fixed penalty for fly-tipping to £5,000.
The Welsh Government says no decision has yet been made on the vehicle-litter proposal and is inviting people, councils, businesses and community organisations to submit evidence before 14 October.
For North Wales, the consultation could have particular relevance given the importance of the A55 and other major routes to tourism, commuting and the local economy — and the amount of roadside land which has to be maintained across a mixture of urban, coastal and rural communities.
