Smokers caught dropping their cigarette butts in the Square Mile could be issued with an £80 Fixed Penalty Notice, and may face a hefty fine and prosecution, as part of an anti-litter campaign launched this week by the City of London Corporation.
The 'No ifs. No Butts.' campaign promises to adopt a tough approach to people who drop their smoking-related litter, including cigarette butts, packets, lighters, matches and cellophane wrappers, on the City’s streets.
Every day, around 7,000 cigarette butts are collected by the City of London’s street cleansing service, which does 67 manual sweeps of the Square Mile in a 24-hour period.
An £80 Fixed Penalty Notice can be handed out by a team of 10 ‘Street Environment Officers’, who have been working with City businesses to target smoking-related litter. It is a further offence to fail to provide accurate contact details, for which a court summons will be issued - and if convicted, a fine of up to £1,000 will be imposed.
So far, more than 30,000 people have received an electronic version of a ‘red card’, warning them that they could be fined up to £2,500 if they were to be prosecuted. Staff from the City of London’s Environmental Services Department have also handed out ‘red cards’ and portable ashtrays in ‘hot spot’ areas in the Square Mile.
The campaign is backed up with a concerted effort by the City of London Corporation to encourage businesses to extend and upgrade their cigarette litter bin facilities on their premises, and coincides with the distribution, on request, of City of London ‘Minibin’ pocket ashtrays.
Philip Everett, Director of Environmental Services, City of London Corporation said:
“As the campaign's name suggests, we’re taking a tough line on people who litter our streets. The City of London takes great pride in working with businesses for a cleaner and more attractive Square Mile, and we expect this campaign to have an impact on people’s behaviour, if not their purses and wallets when they are caught dropping litter. It can be time-consuming to clean it up, and we are keen to work with City firms to prevent it.”
Phil Barton, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said:
“We are pleased that the City of London is taking this issue seriously, because cigarette litter looks terrible and is turning our streets into a giant ashtray. Clearly, many smokers have yet to be convinced that their cigarette stubs are litter, so they need to act responsibly, get a personal ashtray or use the bins provided. There can be no excuse for throwing cigarette butts on the ground. It's lazy and disgusting."
More details about the campaign by the City of London Corporation, which is among the top six highest-performing local authorities in England and Wales for street cleansing, can be found at www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/cleancity