Cardiff Council is encouraging smokers and businesses to reduce the amount of cigarette butts dropped on the streets of Cardiff as it continues its campaign against smoking litter.
On Friday 2, March the Council’s Waste Education Team in partnership with Tidy Towns will hold a roadshow on Queen Street between 11am and 3pm to focus on educating people about minimising the amount of smoking related waste.
Free portable ashtrays will be handed out to smokers to encourage them not to drop their cigarette ends on the street and enforcement officers will also be present.
Portable ashtrays called stubbis given to smokers have been well received in previous years and enforcement 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: “This campaign is an ongoing drive to educate smokers and change attitudes. It is important that people realise that dropping a cigarette end is no different to throwing away a crisp packet or glass bottle and it should be disposed of responsibly.
“Enforcement officers can issue on-the-spot fines to people who they see dropping litter including cigarette butts and failure to pay the fine will result in a case being prepared for prosecution which could result in a maximum fine of £2,500.
“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 raise awareness of social responsibility.”
