Cigarette litter woman fined
A Carmarthen woman has been fined £350 and ordered to pay £100 court costs for throwing a cigarette end in the street.
Marion Rees, aged 53, of Lammas Street, Carmarthen, was convicted in absence to an offence contrary to Section 87 Environmental Protection Act 1990 at Ammanford Magistrates Court.
The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council.
The court heard that Rees had failed to pay a fixed penalty notice of £75 which had been issued by council environmental enforcement officers in Hall Street on November 25 last year.
Director of Technical Services Richard Workman said: “Many people do not think of cigarette ends as litter, but they are. They make an area look unsightly and they are difficult and very expensive to clean up - the ends fall into grates and cracks in the pavement which makes them almost impossible to remove by normal cleaning.
“Hopefully this fine will help to raise awareness of this type of litter. We do not want to fine people but we will not hesitate to do so if they continue to litter in this way.”
Research shows that discarded cigarette ends make up the largest proportion of litter in Carmarthenshire with 83 per cent of litter found on the county’s streets smoking-related.
Marion Rees, aged 53, of Lammas Street, Carmarthen, was convicted in absence to an offence contrary to Section 87 Environmental Protection Act 1990 at Ammanford Magistrates Court.
The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council.
The court heard that Rees had failed to pay a fixed penalty notice of £75 which had been issued by council environmental enforcement officers in Hall Street on November 25 last year.
Director of Technical Services Richard Workman said: “Many people do not think of cigarette ends as litter, but they are. They make an area look unsightly and they are difficult and very expensive to clean up - the ends fall into grates and cracks in the pavement which makes them almost impossible to remove by normal cleaning.
“Hopefully this fine will help to raise awareness of this type of litter. We do not want to fine people but we will not hesitate to do so if they continue to litter in this way.”
Research shows that discarded cigarette ends make up the largest proportion of litter in Carmarthenshire with 83 per cent of litter found on the county’s streets smoking-related.
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