Ministers have been urged to introduce £1,000 on-the-spot fines for fly-tippers after a big rise in rubbish dumping over the past year.
The Keep Britain Tidy campaign has also called on the government to introduce a national strategy, led by a dedicated minister for litter, to impose tougher fines and ensure more prosecutions.
Persistent problems include cigarette ends and chewing gum being dropped, and bulky household items being dumped on streets. Councils are furious that they have to spend £1 billion a year clearing up litter when they have had huge cuts in their government grants.
Richard McIlwain, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said that ministers had lost their focus in the fight against litter and criticised them for abandoning in 2010 the national