€150 on-the-spot fine for leaving or throwing litter...
"Dublin Pubs are to be Targeted in a New Crackdown on Litter"
Litter Fine
Leaving or throwing litter in a public place is an
offence that can be subject to an on-the-spot fine of €150 or a maximum
fine of €3,000 if you are convicted of a litter offence in the District
Court.
In one month alone Dublin city council removed
an estimated
180,000 pieces of embedded gum from Grafton Street.
Chewing Gum
"Chewing
gum was identified as the single largest component in the food litter
category, and as the second largest component of overall litter after
cigarettes" ...Martin Cullen, Irish Environment Minister
Speaking on Irish radio, Environment Minister Martin Cullen said evidence of the litter problem was obvious to see.
"I wouldn't want to describe Ireland as a filthy
country by any means because we have changed our ways a lot in recent
years, but we still have a long way to go."
He said people could see the problem with chewing
gum by looking at "our streets, our footpaths, our pavements right
across the country".
"It is costing local authorities millions every year to clean this up..."
Chewing gum makes up over 25 percent of food-related litter in Ireland.
Cleaning the
blackened remains of chewing gum from expensive cobbles and granite
squares laid in showplace plazas and pedestrianised streets throughout
Ireland is costing local councils millions of euros a year.
In one month
alone Dublin city council removed an estimated 180,000 pieces of
embedded gum from Grafton Street, Dublin's premier shopping
thoroughfare.
With about 80
million packets of gum sold in Ireland every year, it is estimated
that up to 500 tonnes ends up dumped on the streets.
Gum is difficult and costly to remove.
Not only is flattened chewing gum the most prevalent
form of staining, it is the most persistent. Highly resistant to
aggressive chemicals with strong adhesion, chewing gum does not degrade
and retains these properties over a long period of time, under all
weather conditions.
Impacted gum cannot be dislodged by routine street
cleaning, but requires specialist procedures and equipment such as power
washing.
Manual scraping, steam cleaning and cryogenics are also used.
However these procedures are expensive; interfere with normal pedestrian
flow and generate noise. Removal is slow, can damage pavements and
grouting.
Cigarette litter is 56% of litter in Ireland
Cigarettes
Cigarette
related litter constitutes the highest
percentage (55.65%) of litter in the locations
surveyed
...National Litter Pollution Monitoring System
Dublin Pubs to be Targeted
Dublin pubs are to be
targeted in a new crackdown on litter. Dublin City Council is planning
new by-laws to counter the cigarette butt problem on the capital’s
streets, significantly contributed to by the ban on smoking in pubs in
2004.
DCC’s findings show that cigarette butts now account for 56 per
cent of all litter and according to Assistant City Manager Matt Twomey,
the new laws aim to prevent and control litter in the vicinity of the
businesses that generate it, including pubs and takeaways.
"Cigarette litter is a major problem in the vicinity of licensed premises," he said in a report to councillors recently. Under
the new by-laws pubs and takeaways would have to ensure that a 50
metre area around their premises is kept free of litter and stains.
They’d also have to
monitor the area "at least once during each hourly period during
opening hours" and an agreed number of bins would have to be provided
together with a roster and checklist system for emptying them.
Maintaining them would also have to be agreed with the council.
(Source: barkeeper.ie, July 2008)
2,700 tonnes of cigarette litter is dropped on London's
streets each year. This is the equivalent of 6,750 million cigarette
butts.
"Smoking related litter is by far and away the biggest
source of litter on Scotland's streets.
By providing personal ashtrays we are sure we can encourage smokers to dispose of their dog ends
responsibly without the worry of setting a bin on fire." ... John Summers, Chief Executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful
Two of Britain's worst disasters were caused by lighted fag ends dropped by smokers:
Bradford City Football fire in which 40 people died in 1985
King's Cross Underground station fire in 1987 when 31 people died
The Solution
Personal anti litter pouches that can snuff out
cigarettes and they come with foil lined papers to dispose of gum. Gum & Smokes Pouches = Cleaner Environments.
Read more about the Pouches
