Cracking down on cigarette litter is the focus of a new hard-hitting campaign being launched by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council.
The Council’s award-winning Streetcare Enforcement Team which was launched in April 2006 remains pro-active in its many initiatives to combat what has become a blight on communities everywhere.
Their latest campaign is to raise awareness to the public that discarding cigarette butts can result in a £75 fine or worse if it results in a Magistrates’ Court hearing.
Cigarette butts are often seen thrown from moving vehicles by motorists and passengers alike. Other smokers may discard their cigarette butt on the floor when entering a premises. Whatever the reason, dropping cigarette butts is a littering offence and will be dealt with if the culprit is caught by a member of the team.
Some of the areas of regular surveillance include roundabouts or junctions to major roads where drivers often throw the cigarette end through the car window before make a major manoeuvre. Since the implementation of the Smoking Ban in April 2007, there has also been a rise in cigarette litter found outside premises, particularly licensed premises in the county borough.
The Enforcement Officers continue a comprehensive crackdown on litter, dog fouling, flyposting, flytipping, graffiti and waste issues throughout the county borough. This is to ensure that Rhondda Cynon Taf will be a community where everyone who lives, works or visits the area will enjoy the benefits of a better quality of life.
With enforcement powers available, officers can serve notices on people that can also lead to prosecution which could result in fines or even imprisonment. In 2009 alone more than 550 fixed penalty notices were issued to individuals who committed acts of environmental crime.
Of these the greater majority were issued for those individuals who discarded rubbish from their vehicles – ranging from cigarette butts to banana skins – and amounted to 265 fines being issued. Refusal to pay the £75 notices led to some of these being dealt with at Magistrates Court and often resulting in several hundred pounds worth of fines and costs being imposed on them when found guilty.
The new advertising campaign reminds the public, “Drop Litter, Fine! £75” with the image of a smoker reading the fixed penalty notice from the Enforcement Team.
The Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Frontline Services Cllr Anthony Christopher said: “We are incredibly fortunate to have such a pro-active and enthusiastic Streetcare Team who remain committed to using innovative schemes and initiatives to combat these blights on our towns and villages.
“People often don’t realize that discarding cigarette butts on the floor is an offence of littering and these crimes are an eyesore to our county borough and we must do all we can to eradicate them.
“This is part of our commitment to making Rhondda Cynon Taf a cleaner and healthier place to live. This is something we take extremely seriously and remain vigilant in our efforts to remove such eyesores blights on our communities.”
