Westminster Council names and shames Government and big business over cigarette litter

Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Environment and also in Health, Local Government

One year on from the smoking ban Westminster City Council has named and shamed a string of companies and organisations for failing to tackle the growing scourge of cigarette litter which is blighting Britain's streets.

Following the introduction of legislation last July smokers have been forced outdoors to take their nicotine fix, leaving a sea of cigarette butts in their wake.

And among the guilty list of offenders is the Government department responsible for environmental affairs, Defra, which despite being publicly shamed last year by Westminster council is still failing to tackle litter outside its offices.

But the department is in good company as other culprits in this year's list of shame includes Transport for London,Waitrose, renowned for its championing of the environment, and Channel 4 TV.

Household names McDonalds and Tesco also come under fire over cigarette litter outside two of their sites, as too does the Passport Office, which regularly allows staff and visitors to leave a raft of butts in the street.

Councillor Danny Chalkley, cabinet member for transport and environment, said: "It's incredibly disappointing that one year on many organisations, including some very eminent names, are not tackling the unsightly mess of smoking related litter left on their doorsteps by staff and visitors.

"Westminster has an enviable reputation as one of the cleanest areas of the UK, but the trail of discarded cigarettes left on our streets is creating an unacceptable eyesore. We've given people plenty of time to get used to the smoking ban and it's obvious that far too many are simply not listening."

Local authorities have the power to issue £80 fixed penalty notices for littering to people caught throwing cigarette butts on the ground, the fine is reduced to £50 if paid within 10 days. The maximum court fine is £2,500.

But it's not all bad news for the Government, out of three departments named and shamed last year only Defra has failed to clean up its act. And the Home Office is still a beacon of best practice with ample cigarette bins and regular sweeping of its doorways.

Although bars and clubs feature heavily in the list of shame, other culprits include the French banking giant BNP Paribas, bookmakers William Hill and Coral, and coffee shop Costa Coffee. Transport for London has two sites on the list, Horseferry Road and it's London Underground HQ at St James's Park.

In a bid to highlight the problem Westminster City Council's City Guardians will be handing our free packs of stubbies, specially designed pouches for storing cigarette butts, in problem areas this week (Monday 30th June - Friday 4th July) while City Inspectors, who have the power to issue on the spot fines, will be giving litterbugs and organisations final warnings before taking tough enforcement action.

Councillor Chalkley added: "These organisations should be doing more, and smokers really need to think about the impact they're having on our beautiful city. Most people wouldn’t dream of casually dropping a can of drink or food wrapper on the pavement, so why they feel it is acceptable to drop their cigarettes is beyond me.

"Our aim has always been to work with organisations and have a quiet word with those we catch littering rather than rely on our legal powers, but enough is enough.We will not allow this situation to continue. Offenders are being put on notice, their time is up."

Planning restrictions mean it's more difficult for some organisations to combat the problem, but in most cases specially designed cigarette bins would be permissible and regular sweeping of any problem areas would ensure the streets are kept clean.

Westminster has an unrivalled reputation for the cleanliness of its streets. The council was commended at the British Cleaning Council's 'Cleanest City' 2007. Westminster continues to be the only British city to have reached the final 10 every year since the competition began in 1988.