Motorists who throw litter out of their vehicle windows could face fines as new technology is rolled out.

A meeting of Hertfordshire Waste Partnership on Monday (April 29) members heard a change in the law and new technology could help councils in Hertfordshire to crack down on littering from passing or parked cars.

It is now easier to prosecute motorists for the litter they discard by the side of the road because action can be taken against the vehicle owner regardless of who threw the litter from their car – whereas in the past authorities had to identify the culprit.

And the partnership – which brings together representatives of the county, district and borough councils – were also told there is the possibility of installing the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology in any places that were  identified as hotspots to identify those responsible.

And Duncan Jones, development manager for the partnership, is set to investigate whether and how the technology could be used in Hertfordshire.

“The technology is there,” said Mr Jones. “And it’s something we will look at using in Hertfordshire.”