On-the-spot litter fine system is ‘not a deterrent’

NEARLY half of on-the-spot litter fines issued are struck off by local authorities, according to Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL).

A total of 27,078 fines were issued last year, but just 12,521 of these on-the-spot fines were paid. IBAL has sharply criticised the Department of the Environment for not enforcing litter legislation.

On-the-spot fines are normally handed out for acts of littering such as spitting chewing gum on the street but more serious litter offences, such as dumping household or commercial waste, are generally followed by a prosecution. Last year, a mere 2,668 people or companies were prosecuted for littering and little more than a quarter of these, 557, were convicted of littering offences.

Speaking at the Irish Street Cleansing Conference in Dublin yesterday, IBAL chairman Dr Tom Cavanagh said the on-the-spot fine system was not deterring anyone from littering as people weren’t being caught and if they were, half of those fines were eventually thrown out.

“Litter fine enforcement is just not happening in Ireland. With millions of pieces of litter dropped illegally per week, we need to seriously increase the number of fines issued and prosecutions in order for the on-the-spot fine system to have any effect.

“As it stands, it represents no threat to the public to deter them from littering, as there is a very high chance they will never be caught and even if they are, it is likely nothing will come of it. The same applies to businesses who do not take responsibility for litter on or around their premises. Failure to adequately enforce the Litter Act means that there is more litter to be cleaned up,” he said.

IBAL also called on the Minster for the Environment to include a chewing gum levy in the ‘green’ provisions expected in the upcoming Budget. He estimated a levy of 20 cent on every pack would roughly equate to the annual cost of cleaning the chewing gum off the streets.

“The greatest litter problem that faces this country is the vast amount of chewing gum that is spat onto the roads and pavements. It is filthy and near impossible to remove, even from the inside of a litterbin. Local authorities are spending vast sums on new pavements which are subsequently ruined with chewing gum stuck everywhere,” he said.

“It has long been our contention that the cost of removing chewing gum is an undue burden on the taxpayer.”

According to Dr Cavanagh, gum manufacturers and gum consumers across Europe pay for the removal of gum from the streets.

“Stopping litter going down in the first place is of course the best way to reduce the overall problem. That’s the rationale behind the current awareness campaign. But we remain unconvinced that these campaigns actually change behaviour — I cannot think of a single social ill that has been remedied in any shape or form through such campaigns. They are at best a complement to enforcement,” he said.