preventie-rokengerelateerd-zwerfafval

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Don’t be a tosser – bin your butts The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) welcomed the launch of Sustainability Victoria’s “Don’t Be a Tosser - Bin Your Butts” campaign aimed at reducing the expected increase in cigarette butt litter when smoking is banned in pubs and clubs from 1 July. Cr Dick Gross, MAV President said cigarette butts already accounted for over half Victoria’s litter and one in 10 ended up in waterways, affecting stormwater quality and council costs for street sweeping and cleaning. “Overseas and interstate evidence suggested the introduction of smoking bans in licensed premises could result in a significant increase in cigarette butt littering behaviour, particularly on footpaths outside venues. “Local government had worked closely with the hospitality industry, Sustainability Victoria and the Victorian Litter Action Alliance on the campaign to help minimise the butt littering impact of smoking bans and to encourage responsible behaviour. “Council environmental health officers will have a key responsibility in enforcing the new tobacco laws and had been working hard for many months to educate licensed premises about the impending changes. “The response had been heartening, with pubs and clubs contacting their local council to obtain permits to alter or create appropriate outdoor smoking areas and for installation of butt litter bins outside venues. Many had also applied for rebates of up to $300 available through the Butt Bin Rebate Scheme,” he said. From 1 July it will be illegal to smoke in enclosed licensed premises or in an outdoor dining or drinking area, such as a balcony or courtyard if the area had a roof in place and the total area of the wall surfaces exceeds 75% of the total notional wall area.The penalty for smoking in a licensed venue or being in charge of an enclosed workplace where a smoking offence occurred will be $110, with a maximum penalty of $550 if prosecuted under the Tobacco Act. The penalty for littering an extinguished cigarette butt will be $110 or $220 if it was still burning under the Environment Protection Act. According to Cr Gross, cigarette butts were environmental poison, taking up to 12 months to decompose and releasing many toxic chemicals along the way. “We’re urging all smokers to do their bit and bin their butts. It’s a small ask but will go a long way towards preventing cigarette litter becoming an even bigger problem, causing environmental damage and an unkempt, dirty look in streets. “While many venues had already changed their physical settings to provide appropriate outdoor spaces for smokers, not all pubs and clubs would have designated smoking areas from 1 July. “In addition to the advertising campaign and installation of new bin facilities, councils and licensed premises will use posters, t-shirts and giveaways to educate patrons about the new laws,” he said. 28 • Gids preventie rokengerelateerd zwerfafval bij de invoering van het rookverbod in de horeca
£80 fine for dropping a cigarette butt Smokers will be liable for an £80 on-the-spot fine for stubbing out cigarettes in the street when the smoking ban comes into force across England on July 1. The Government has set aside £29.5m to help councils enforce the ban. This is one of a series of measures being introduced by the Government that will stigmatise what is normal practice for 10 million smokers, and - it is hoped - slash the NHS’s £1.7 billion bill to treat smoking-related diseases. Supporters of smoking said it was ‘unfair’ that they should be singled out for punishment and vowed to resist heavy-handed use of fines. But anti-litter campaigners welcomed the move, saying it would help end the blight of cigarette-strewn streets. Ginette Unsworth, of Keep Britain Tidy, said: “Some smokers just don’t think it is litter. They can be very naive and think it will biodegrade in a couple of days. “We are trying to educate all the local councils and tell them there is no excuse for littering.” When the ban comes into force smokers will no longer be able to light up in pubs, bars and restaurants, although there is much confusion about the exact details. Local authorities have been granted new powers to issue on-the-spot fines, film secretly in pubs and monitor people’s work-places, be it an office block or a taxi cab. Apart from prison cells, oil rigs and submarines there will be few places indoors where smokers can enjoy cigarettes in peace.Councils are expected to raise millions of pounds from fining people both for smoking and for littering the street with their butts. The authorities say the money will help buy extra bins and advertising to warn people about the changes. But pro-smoking groups and pubs have warned councils that they face an angry reaction if they take too strong an approach. The litter fines of up to £80 come on top of the possible £50 fines that smokers will be hit with if they are caught smoking inside public places. It is estimated that 79 per cent of all public places are blighted by cigarette butts. Keep Britain Tidy is launching a campaign to remind smokers that they are liable for on-the-spot fines, under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, which has been in force for two years but is rarely enforced. The Government has set aside £29.5 million to help councils enforce the ban. The number of smokers has fallen from 28pc of adults in 1998, to 24pc. Up to 1,200 local authority officers are expected to be trained to police pubs, public buildings and even vehicles to check that smokers are complying with the law. However, there is no central Government budget to help with the tidy-up caused by all the extra cigarette butts that are expected on the streets. Councils must decide how to clear up the mess and how to fund it. After the indoor ban came into force in Ireland, litter was reported to have increased by 15 per cent. Colchester council is one of a handful working closely with Keep Britain Tidy and with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to crack down on litter. It raised £13,000 last year from anti-litter fines. Gids preventie rokengerelateerd zwerfafval bij de invoering van het rookverbod in de horeca • 29
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