Deciding on severity of litter fines
Singapore has stringent litter laws that famously outlaw spitting in public places.
Wellington City Council manager of city operations Mike Mendonca says a country?s laws should reflect the will of the people.
?We don?t think that the by-laws and rules that apply over there would be cognitive with us.
?Kiwis have a healthy disrespect for rules and authority,? says Mr Mendonca.
Having lived in Singapore he says it?s helpful to study other countries regulations, but to be effective they need to be accepted by the population. In July a by-law was passed that pushed the maximum litter fine from $100 to $200, and allowed fines to be issued for dropping cigarette butts.
?We prefer to give warnings the first time, but it?s good to have a larger judicial stick,? he says.
No $400 fines have been issued, and Mr Mendonca says littering tends to follow seasonal trends such as students leaving their flats and the advent of longer summer days.
?We could issue thousands of tickets, but it doesn?t tell you if there is a change in the mindset around littering,? Mr Mendonca says.
His officers are currently investigating smarter ways to deal with wind-blown litter and how better to manage their litter fines. Porirua City Council litter control officer David Redmayne says the knowledge that larger fines await those who litter deters people from illegal dumping.
?We charge for the cleanup and the time involved, but have not yet issued a $400 fine.
?As a deterrent it seems to be working, we have had a concerted campaign on this for the past nine months ? people are seeing it?s cheaper to use the accepted methods,? Mr Redmayne says.
Mr Redmayne will soon start a public education campaign about the fines association with cigarette butt littering.
?Cigarette littering in a concern of ours, particularly around the CBD area,? he says.
Hutt City Council environmental investigations officer Alan Pope says stringent laws, such as those in Singapore, can only be enforced if the community decides they are acceptable.
?We have issued a few [$400] fines, and are issuing around two to three of them a month,? he says.
He recently busted a group eating takeaways beside the Hutt River, who left their wrappers behind and copped a $100 fine.
?The other day I issued a $400 fine for someone who left a shopping trolley full of rubbish outside a business,? he says.
The HCC has handed out over 5000 portable ashtrays, and will continue public education about the law before they start fining.
Over a six month period from April to October there were 13 Litter Infringement Notices issued; four $400 notices for major dumpings of household rubbish. Seven were $200 notices for medium dumpings of household rubbish. In addition, the $100 notice for take-away litter at the river side.
In the same period 43 warning letters were issued, where there was not enough evidence to proceed.
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