FAQs - Litter management in the Peak District
Who is responsible for litter management in the Peak District National Park?
In the vast majority of cases, formal litter management in public/civic open spaces and along the highways network is the responsibly of local (parish/district) or county councils. On privately-owned attractions and some facilities such as public or private car parks, this may be facilitated by the relevant landowner at their discretion.
The National Park Authority has no role or remit in the collection of litter beyond on our landholdings and facilities.
Commercial litter management, for example 'fly tipping' is the responsibility of local authorities and not the National Park Authority.
Sites owned by, or managed in partnership with the Peak District National Park Authority
There is no formal requirement on the National Park Authority to provide public litter bins (including general and dog waste) and associated litter collection services.
In line with responsible behavior from those who enjoy the Peak District, we expect all visitors to 'take home what they bring'.
Whilst we appreciate a small number of the millions of visitors to the Peak District may not undertake this, the vast majority of those who visit the National Park do so.
At particularly high footfall locations we may provide bins, incidental litter-picking and collections either as an Authority or alongside our partners.
Why do you not have bins at all of your sites/car parks?
The use of bins on our properties is assessed on a case-by-case basis. On our wider landscape estates it is not appropriate for bins to be present in the open landscape and we ask that those visiting are responsible for their own litter.
Bins at locations such as car parks and toilet facilities are managed based on the number of users at the site. In some cases, servicing, maintenance and other needs means that a regular staff presence at certain sites makes litter collection a cost effective option. Where refreshments are provided by local operators on Authority sites, the operators must provide facilities for litter disposal for their customers.
Previous estimates of litter management (including formal disposal) and provision of bins across our whole facilities network were in the region of £40,000 per year.
As a result of these high costs, bins are no longer provided at all National Park Authority car parks. In most cases this has a minimal impact on litter issues in the area, but we recognize individual site circumstances and instances of litter can fluctuate. In most cases we have found that the amount of litter left on the ground reduces when bins are removed, particularly at more remote sites where regular emptying of bins is not always possible.
Where we identify a problem with particular sites, patrolling rangers may visit on a more regular basis to ensure levels of litter are minimized. This is typically part of routine operations and not as one-off journeys.
Overall this helps to reduce the costs of maintaining a comprehensive bin and collection network and means we can keep other facilities open such as public toilets and our network of cycle trails.
There are no dog waste bins at any National Park Authority sites as we do not have the specialist facilities to manage them and find that where they are present, they are often a magnet for littering.
Litter picking and local support
We remain very grateful to those individuals and groups who choose to voluntarily support their local area by undertaking litter picks or similar activities.