Ealing Litter Team's ' War on Smokers'

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Claims that private company not focussing on other 'litter louts'

The majority of fines issued by Ealing's new litter enforcement team have been for people dropping cigarette butts - leading to accusations of there being a 'war on smokers.'

Kingdom Security is the private company brought in on a trial basis last year to crackdown on environmental problems in parts of the borough.

Ealing Council said the uniformed patrols would start issuing Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) to those caught dropping litter, dumping rubbish, spitting and allowing their dogs to foul the streets.

From figures supplied by a Freedom of Information request between 23rd September 2015 and the end of February 2016 Kingdom issued 2,646 FPNs of which 2,492 (92%) were handed to people who dropped cigarette butts.

Julian Beynon fell foul of the new inspectors last year and had to pay £80 fine after dropping his cigarette outside Ealing Broadway having discovered the bin previously there had been removed.

He says he's not surprised with the FOI figures and believes the real problem of littering is not being dealt with and claims the patrols are after 'soft' targets. He says it's a 'war on smokers':

''I never see an enforcement officer on the road but see fast food wrappers, bottles, drink cans and crisp packets every morning. If I were to be kind to Ealing Council their 'free service' is targeting easy targets raising good revenue rather than doing the real job of sorting litter problems.''

Liberal Democrat Councillor, Gary Malcolm, says, ''The biggest problems are those people who dump their waste on the pavements rather than in their own bins. The foxes open the bags and both the litter and the smell is very bad across the whole borough. People should not dump cigarette butts, however the Council needs to be more effective in the other types of waste and litter.''

A council spokesperson said,“Cigarette butts dropped on the ground are a blight on our streets and we make no apology for penalising people who do it. The proportion of fixed penalty notices given for this offence goes to show just how much of a problem it is in our town centres, despite the number of bins nearby.

“The fact that most fixed penalty notices are being paid quickly and without dispute shows that the majority of those caught accept they were in the wrong. Our hope is that receiving a fixed penalty notice will be the wake-up call that people need to stop this selfish and dirty littering habit.”

29th March 2016