Following the Council’s continued campaign against smoking litter, 23 people have been fined for dropping cigarette butts and smoking related litter.
The operation which took place on Queen Street encouraged smokers and businesses to reduce smoking litter dropped on the streets of the city.
The fines were issued by Enforcement Officers during a campaign organised by the Council’s Waste Education Team in partnership with Tidy Towns which focussed on educating people about minimising the amount of smoking related waste.
Over 200 free portable ashtrays were also handed out to smokers to encourage them not to drop their cigarette ends on the street.
The portable ashtrays called stubbis given to smokers were well received and over the years enforcement officers have noticed a decrease in smoking litter outside businesses across the city that have been given smoking litter bins by Tidy Towns.
The event is part of an ongoing campaign between Cardiff Council, Tidy Towns and Keep Cardiff Tidy to encourage people to take responsibility for their environment.
Tidy Towns is a joint initiative between Keep Wales Tidy and local authorities in Wales. Funded by the Welsh Government, it aims to change public attitudes to littering and to encourage people to deal with rubbish responsibly.
Executive Member for Environment, Cllr Margaret Jones, said: “Smoking litter should be disposed of responsibly and this campaign is an ongoing drive to educate smokers and change attitudes.
“It is positive that fines are being issued as it sends out the message that dropping a cigarette end is no different to throwing away any other item of rubbish.
“It is important that people know enforcement officers can issue on-the-spot fines to people who they see dropping litter including cigarette butts.
“Cardiff has the facilities in place for people to utilise including bins being located around the city centre which are specifically designed for the safe disposal of cigarettes. We will continue to proactively tackle litter issues as we strive towards a cleaner city and continue to encourage social responsibility.”
