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| Cigarette Litter
- A Growing Concern |
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| This page has been developed
to keep you up to date with current news headlines and
government info regarding the growing problem of Cigarette
Litter. |
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| Quick Facts |
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120 tonnes of cigarette
litter are dropped in the UK every day. |
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In the UK, cigarette butts account
for around 40 % of litter, in the rest of the World,
they account for around 50 percent of all litter. |
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A cigarette butt contains up to 4,000
chemicals including Hydrogen, cyanide and arsenic. |
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Cigarette filters are made of plastic,
cellulose acetate which can take up to 12 years
to degrade. |
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| News Stories |
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Hospital Smokers Blamed
Western & Somerset Mercury, Aug 10, 2006
Scores of smokers are making life a misery for homeowners in Uphill whose streets are being littered with cigarette butts.
Since Weston General Hos....
Cigarette butts causing major litter problem
Western People, Aug 31, 2005
Discarded cigarette butts strewn outside Mayo’s pubs are dirtying our towns, according to a Mayo litter warden. The smoking ban has lead to thousands ....
Stub-out plates help smokers to keep butts off street
Edinburgh News, Jul 12, 2005
STUBBING-OUT plates are to be fitted to 1000 bins across the city centre to encourage smokers to stop leaving their butts on the streets.
Scotland....
Fears that city smoking ban will cover streets in litter
Daily Post, Feb 07, 2005
By Mark Johnson Daily Post Correspondent
A LEADING environmental group last night warned Liverpool council that the city's proposed smoking ban ....
Council stamps out stubs on Manchester streets
Manchester City Council, Feb 03, 2005
Love Manchester? Improve it! Challenge Manchester - 100 Days 2005
As part of the 100 Days Challenge, today Manchester City Council will be offering ....
Butts out campaign sees Preston clamp down on cigarette litter
Preston City Council, Nov 05, 2004
Preston City Council’s asking the City’s smokers to bin their cigarette butts with its latest campaign.
The ‘Butts Out’ campaign, which kicks off o....
Litter blitz costs offenders £135 each
Liverpool Echo, Oct 15, 2004
By Alan Weston, Daily Post
DROPPING a match in a Liverpool street yesterday cost a man £135 as a major litter clampdown in the city began to bit....
No butts, says mayor. Put your fag in the bin
The Guardian, Sep 30, 2004
Cigarette wardens to issue £50 fines for London smokers who use the street as their ashtray.
Hugh Muir
For the hardened London smoker, cha....
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Hospital Smokers Blamed
Western & Somerset Mercury ,
Aug 10 ,
2006 |
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Scores of smokers are making life a misery for homeowners in Uphill whose streets are being littered with cigarette butts.
Since Weston General Hospital declared its grounds a no smoking area staff, patients and visitors are often seen lighting up in the nearby streets and huddling under the bus shelter for a quick cigarette break.
Patients lighting up in the street while still strapped to their drips are a comical sight but the mess smokers are leaving behind is getting out of hand and a number of residents have written to the hospital to complain.
Uphill Village Society chairman Stewart Castle said: "The smokers now go outside and stand on the public highway and verges and use the bus shelter as their smoking area and litter it with cigarettes, making it very scruffy."
After two years of consulting with staff and patients, smoking was banned in the hospital buildings and grounds on January 1 to comply with national policy.
Hospital spokeswoman Caroline Thomas said: "Staff have been reminded that they should not smoke in public while wearing a uniform or trust ID badge.
"We are very keen to work with local groups to complement the high-profile work we are doing in the hospital in this important area. |
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Cigarette butts causing major litter problem
Western People ,
Aug 31 ,
2005 |
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Discarded cigarette butts strewn outside Mayo’s pubs are dirtying our towns, according to a Mayo litter warden. The smoking ban has lead to thousands of butts being thrown outside pub doors and office buildings with the problem being worse in the larger urban areas.
“Without a shadow of a doubt there had been a huge increase in the amount of litter outside pubs with patrons throwing their cigarette butts on the ground since the smoking ban,” noted a Mayo litter warden.
A National Litter Report issued last week confirmed that cigarette litter has increased substantially since the introduction of the Ban on Smoking in the Workplace in Ireland as part of the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002. Cigarette related litter (48.06%) was the main litter constituents identified nationally, followed by food related litter and packaging litter.
“The incidence of cigarette related litter has increased substantially, most likely as a result of the Ban on Smoking in the workplace. Most of this litter is found at gathering points (e.g. outside shops, bars, restaurants and workplaces),” read the report.
While publicans are responsible for the outside of their premises to the edge of the road, wardens in Mayo are constantly coming across footpaths and archways littered with cigarette butts.
“Publicans can be fined for failure to keep a public place free of litter and it’s illegal to sweep the litter from the footpath onto the gully or road but that’s what often happens,” pointed out the litter warden.
While a number of publicans have mounted wall ashtrays for smokers, other pub owners and smokers have ignored warnings that they could be receive an on the spot fine of €125 for throwing butts onto the ground or failure to keep their premises free from litter.
Failure to pay the fine could result in a court appearance, where the judge can inflict a fine of up to €3,000 with costs.
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Stub-out plates help smokers to keep butts off street
Edinburgh News ,
Jul 12 ,
2005 |
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STUBBING-OUT plates are to be fitted to 1000 bins across the city centre to encourage smokers to stop leaving their butts on the streets.
Scotland's smoking ban is expected to lead to more people smoking in the street when it comes into effect next year.
The city council is investing in the new plates and an advertising campaign to encourage smokers to keep the streets clean.
At the same time, it is warning smokers they risk being hit with a £50 on-the-spot fine, if they ignore the plea.
The move is part of the city council's Keep Edinburgh Clean campaign. There will be adverts on the side of buses, as well as on TV and radio.
The council initiative coincides with the launch of a website by the Scottish Executive, which informs businesses how next year's smoking ban will affect them.
The new legislation was passed at Holyrood at the end of June, and will become law on March 26, 2006. Employers and managers will be responsible for ensuring premises and staff meet all the requirements of the law.
Mike Drewry, director of environmental and consumer services at Edinburgh Council said: "Next year's smoking in public places ban will result in more people smoking in the streets.
"We therefore hope that our advertising campaign will inform and remind as many people as possible that they must dispose of their cigarette litter in the proper manner.
"They need to realise that there is a very real possibility of receiving a £50 fine for not stubbing and binning their cigarette ends."
The stubbing plates will be installed on city centre bins starting this week, adding to the 60 litter bins along the shopping side of Princes Street that already have them.
The 30-second accompanying TV advert will air on Scottish Television later this year, and is due to be filmed in a city centre flat within the next few weeks.
It will feature a woman at a dinner party who stubs her cigarette out on the dinner table, instead of using the ashtray next to her.
The commercial will be supported by bus adverts that will appear from August, as well as radio spots on Forth One from September.
At the same time, the Scottish Executive will send out letters to local businesses and organisations with information on the smoking ban.
All business will have to display No Smoking signs that are clearly visible, while buses, taxis, company cars, ferries and trains will also be covered by the ban.
The law will be enforced by the council's environmental health officers, who will hand out fixed penalty notices to anyone who commits an offence.
Employers and managers can be hit with a £200 fine if they do not take reasonable action to prevent someone smoking on the premises, or if they do not provide adequate No Smoking signs.
Individual offenders who break the law could also be liable for fixed penalty fines of £50.
Health Minister Andy Kerr said: "This is the most important piece of public health legislation in a generation and it is vital that all businesses, large and small, ensure their premises and staff conform to the legislation."
Do your premises need a cigarette litter bin? All models – stainless steel cigarette bins, wall-mounted ashtrays, floor standing cigarette butt bins, smoking shelters...the best range and the keenest prices. Buy Online from Cigarette Bins UK www.ciggybins.co.uk”
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Fears that city smoking ban will cover streets in litter
Daily Post ,
Feb 07 ,
2005 |
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By Mark Johnson Daily Post Correspondent
A LEADING environmental group last night warned Liverpool council that the city's proposed smoking ban could cause a widespread problem with litter.
The news comes after a study, , commissioned by the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (INCPEN), found cigarette debris was the highest cause of litter after chewing gum. The report, which examined 58,000 instances of littering in 390 locations round the UK, found cigarette ends accounted for one third of all litter.
An INCPEN spokesman said: "The proportion of cigarette ends littered increased by 43.5% between 1996 and 2004 as more places started to ban smoking, forcing smokers to congregate on street corners and pavements. "This figure is likely to rise in Liverpool if the city follows Ireland's example of banning smoking in public places - a proposal which has been put forward."
Director Jane Bickerstaffe said: "Businesses and local authorities need to act now.
"They need to put the necessary ashtrays and bins in place, to ensure the familiar groups of smokers huddled outside offices and bars do not become an even bigger litter problem."
The survey was carried out by Encams, the charity which runs the Keep Britain Tidy campaign.
Peter Gibson, spokesman for the campaign, said: "We don't have a view on smoking, but we are concerned that when offices brought in a ban very few employers provided bins for their employees to use and the net result was more were dumped on the ground.
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Council stamps out stubs on Manchester streets
Manchester City Council ,
Feb 03 ,
2005 |
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Love Manchester? Improve it! Challenge Manchester - 100 Days 2005
As part of the 100 Days Challenge, today Manchester City Council will be offering 5,000 free pocket ashtrays or ‘stubbis’ to smokers through City Centre retailers in a new initiative aimed at encouraging smokers to dispose of cigarette litter responsibly and reduce the number of cigarette butts dropped on Manchester’s streets.
According to ENCAMS (formerly the Tidy Britain Group) approximately 40 per cent of all litter is cigarette related with 122 tonnes of cigarette butts and cigarette related litter dropped every day across the UK. Cigarette butts are made of plastic which can take up to two years to degrade and they contain up to 4,000 chemicals which are harmful to the environment.
The handy pouches, which are heat and flame resistant, can hold up to 5 cigarette butts. These foiled-lined wallets will be available from Sainsbury’s, Tescos and selected News Agents in the City Centre and will be handed out by "Butt Out" staff during today.
Councillor Paul Murphy, Executive Member for Direct Services at Manchester City Council commenting on the "Butt Out" campaign said: "We have consulted residents and time and time again we hear that cigarette litter is one of people’s biggest concerns. We estimate each year one thousand tonnes of smoking related litter is dropped in Manchester which equates to the contents of nearly half a million ashtrays being emptied onto our streets. Not only are carelessly discarded butts a fire risk but if flushed into our waterways in huge quantities can be harmful to birds and animals. It is our intention in the future to enforce cigarette butt littering and issue £50 fixed Penalty Notices to offenders."
To get involved call the 100 Days hotline number on 0161 954 9005. For more information about the Challenge Manchester 100 Days 2005 campaign click on www.challengemanchester.co.uk
Manchester City Council launched Challenge Manchester - 100 Days 2005 on February 14 2005. The campaign will run until 24th May 2005.
The over-arching theme is improving behaviour, challenging the people of Manchester to look after and respect their community, their city, their families and neighbours. Manchester residents will help define the type of city that they want to live and work in.
The challenge is an initiative of the City Council working in partnership with the Government and key partners including ASBU - Home Office, GM Waste and Greater Manchester Police, communities across Manchester and representatives from all sectors. |
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Butts out campaign sees Preston clamp down on cigarette litter
Preston City Council ,
Nov 05 ,
2004 |
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Preston City Council’s asking the City’s smokers to bin their cigarette butts with its latest campaign.
The ‘Butts Out’ campaign, which kicks off on Monday 22nd November, aims to make smokers more aware of the problems that their cigarette litter causes.
Councillor John Swindells – Executive Member for Environment and Sustainability said: -
“Cigarette butts cause Preston’s streets to look a real mess when they’re left lying around. There are no excuses, it only takes a second to stub out your cigarette and put it in a bin. It’s a national problem, 120 tonnes of cigarette litter are dropped on Britain’s streets every day, so remember to bin your butts or you could face a £50 fine.”
Sonia Scowcroft – the Litter Education Officer who’s been leading the project added:-
“Cigarette butts are a real litter problem, not only do they cause the streets to look untidy and stick to your shoes, they are poisonous and can harm animals. People don’t see their cigarette butts as a problem, they see actors flick their butts on the floor and stub them out all the time in films. Our butts out campaign will make people think twice about their cigarette litter, it’s not cool to drop cigarette butts on the floor, so remember to just stub out and bin your cigarette ends, no ifs, no butts!” |
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Litter blitz costs offenders £135 each
Liverpool Echo ,
Oct 15 ,
2004 |
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By Alan Weston, Daily Post
DROPPING a match in a Liverpool street yesterday cost a man £135 as a major litter clampdown in the city began to bite.A marathon session before Liverpool magistrates saw a total of 25 people being fined for dropping litter after a swoop on litter louts by Liverpool Council.All those who pleaded guilty to the offences were ordered to pay a total of £135, made up of a fine of £60, plus £75 costs to the local authority.They were told the fines could have been even higher if they had not chosen to plead guilty at the first opportunity.The majority of offenders were prosecuted for discarding cigarette ends, in a "zero tolerance" campaign by the authority.
However, in one case, a man was summoned to appear for dropping a match in the street.The prosecutions followed a one-day co-ordinated swoop by council environmental health officers in June, which led to 42 people being summoned to appear before magistrates for dropping litter, with another 17 prosecuted for dog fouling.Gary Colbert, of Bower Grove, Seaforth, was among those appearing before magistrates, when he was caught dumping a match in Roe Street.Later Mr Colbert, 31, said: "It is ridiculous. I have been fined £135 for dropping a match on the ground!"It's a joke. People get away with all sorts - I throw a match on the ground and end up having to fork out £135 I don't have."Others were equally unhappy about their treatment.Stephen Brown, 30, from Bray Road, Speke, said: "This is completely ridiculous - I've been charged £135 for dropping a ciggie when there are people stood at the front of this building chucking their cigarettes all day long."It's a total joke." Mirella Foster, 34, from Simons Croft
Bootle, said: "I do not understand, all I have done is throw a small cigarette end down and I have been fined £135. There was nowhere else to put it."
Charlene Taylor, 24, from Monkfield Way, Garston, said: "Being fined like this is totally pathetic. We see bins everywhere for rubbish but there's nowhere to put your cigarette ends - where are we supposed to put them?"
Cllr Marilyn Fielding, the council's executive member for neighbourhood services, said after the hearing: "These prosecutions were the result of a drive by the city council to make Liverpool a cleaner place.
"The message is clear - if you drop litter of any sort then you stand a very good chance of ending up in court. For far too long, litter louts have escaped scot-free, but those days are over. "All the evidence is the majority of people in Liverpool want us to take tough action against those who litter our streets.
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No butts, says mayor. Put your fag in the bin
The Guardian ,
Sep 30 ,
2004 |
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Cigarette wardens to issue £50 fines for London smokers who use the street as their ashtray.
Hugh Muir
For the hardened London smoker, chased from the office by rules and disapproving company policies, the pavement has been the last refuge. They huddle together at break times, for a quick fag and a last stand. But now even that may be under attack.
Amid claims that they have been littering London with tonnes of discarded butts, the mayor, Ken Livingstone, is to get tough on the pavement smokers.
He is writing to 300 companies telling them to stop errant staff dropping litter outside their offices and elsewhere.
To make compliance easier the mayor and boroughs will distribute 15,000 heat-resistant cigarette butt pouches, so every smoker will have their own ashtray.
But with the carrot comes a stick. Under the Capital Standards Programme, Mr Livingstone and the boroughs aim by 2005 to treble to 750 the number of enforcement officers issuing on-the-spot fines for littering and other anti-social offences.
They are empowered under the 1990 Environmental Protection Act to write £50 fixed-penalty notices. As with parking tickets, the culprit has a limited period to pay a fine or go to court.
Huddling in the wind outside City Hall, cigarette in hand, Chris Taylor, a support worker for the Conservative group, says smokers are assuming pariah status.
"Of course it is not nice to drop litter but we do seem to be demonised," he said. "We have been forced outside because there is no designated smoking area and now we can't even smoke out here in peace. It is bad enough that we all get colds from standing outside. I am sure the money they are spending on this could be used for other things."
Mr Livingstone has made no secret of his support for a ban on smoking in public places but his officials claim that the thrust of the latest action is not anti-smoking zealotry but a desire to see a cleaner London.
They claim the statistics are on their side and that 2,700 tonnes of cigarette litter - including packaging, cellophane, foil, lighters, matches, butts and cigarette filters - are dropped on the capital's streets each year.
John Duffy, the mayor's environment adviser, said: "We are seeing more smokers gathering outside their offices and more smoking litter on the streets. This campaign is working to persuade smokers to change their behaviour and dispose of cigarette butts in a safe, clean way."
The mayor himself said it was important to act now to change the behaviour of pavement smokers.
"People think their cigarette butt is fairly harmless and will not make a difference to London's litter problem," Mr Livingstone said. "But in reality smoking litter is one of the most commonly occurring forms of litter and cigarette filters do not degrade easily.
"If a smoking ban were to come into force, the problem of people congregating outside offices, restaurants and pubs to smoke and drop their cigarette butt will only continue and get worse unless the problem is tackled now. Smokers need to start taking more responsibility for their litter."
It is estimated that 177,000 tonnes of litter is dropped in London each year, the cleaning up of which costs £100m. In the latest annual survey by the Greater London authority, 44% of those polled said they saw the litter problem as a priority for improving the environment. But the population is also in denial, with most believing they do not drop litter and looking to local services to clean the streets.
Although a public smoking ban would require national legislation, the government is expected to release a white paper next month with provisions only for a selective ban. It is expected that pubs and clubs will be excluded.
London officials look to Ireland where a public smoking ban was introduced in January. Reports suggest there has been 98% compliance. Fines stand at €3,000 (£2,000).
Simon Clark, director of the pro-smoking group Forest, said smokers felt increasingly beleaguered. "No one is in favour of litter but it is the inevitable consequence of banning smoking indoors," he said. "In Ireland there was a report that litter is up 15% since the smoking ban.
He added that many smokers could not even take refuge outside their offices because their employers did not want them there.
"It is just the triumph of petty rules and regulations," he said. "The number of man hours being devoted to confronting this so-called problem of smoking is simply extraordinary."
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