Keep Britain Tidy News Release, 14th September 2007. Includes fact file
Smokers in England are the worst for ditching their dog ends on the street, compared to the rest of the UK.
Today (Friday 14th September) Keep Britain Tidy releases the FIRST EVER stats on the rise of flung fag ends since the smoking ban was brought in - showing that it has shot up by 43% in England.
That`s over DOUBLE how much it has gone up in Northern Ireland and FIVE TIMES the increase in Wales.*
Ginette Unsworth Keep Britain Tidy`s Senior Marketing Manager reckons the dramatic rise in England is shameful: `There`s no reason for England to be bottom of the cig end grot pile. It had more time than any other country in the UK to prepare for the ban.`
The worst hit areas were town and city centres: home to the places most affected by the smoking ban, pubs, clubs and offices.
There was no dodging smoking rubbish for businesses either with 84% of places dogged by dog ends.
And the surge in smoking litter certainly got the public`s back up, with 37% of councils across the country getting more complaints about chucked cig ends.
On Monday 17th September Keep Britain Tidy launched the second of a three part campaign on smoking rubbish. It is backed by ten councils in England, in the hope that irresponsible smokers will be encouraged to ditch their fag end flicking habit.
More information on the campaign can be found at www.keepbritaintidy.org/campaigns
Added Ginette: `Smokers` dirty defences won`t wash with us, or enforcement officers who are keen to dish out an £80 fine to dog end droppers. So to turn the tide of fag trash engulfing our streets - it`s vital that every smoker bins their butt responsibly: by using a portable ashtray or cigarette bin.`
* Tidy Northern Ireland reported a 17% increase in smoking litter after the ban was introduced in Northern Ireland. Keep Wales Tidy recorded a 7% rise since Wales brought the ban in. After the ban was introduced in Scotland, Keep Scotland Beautiful did notice an immediate rise but it then reduced as more people used cigarette bins.
For more information Please contact Emma Brennan on 01942 612617 or email press@encams.org.
