STRONGER enforcement is needed to tackle the problem of cigarette butts littering town, St Helier’s Constable has said.
Fines may have to be issued to change behaviour and in future it is ‘very likely’ that event organisers could lose some of their deposit if they do not clean up the mess afterwards, Simon Crowcroft added.
No fines were issued for littering with cigarette butts in the 12 years between 2010 and 2022, two Freedom of Information responses have revealed.
Mr Crowcroft said the issue was raised at the latest meeting of the St Helier Roads Committee, which highlighted cigarette litter across town but especially after events in locations such as the People’s Park.
Islanders have raised concerns with the JEP that pavements are being used as bins and planters are turning into ash trays.
Environmental campaigner Sheena Brockie, one of the founding members of Plastic Free Jersey, said that cigarettes were the most common piece of litter in Jersey.
‘A lot of people just throw them down in the street, I have literally seen people throw them down the drain,’ she said, adding that cigarettes contained carcinogenic ingredients, which could release toxins into water and harm marine life.
Mr Crowcroft said that while most Islanders disposed of their cigarettes properly, it might take stronger policing to stop the litterers.
In 2021, St Helier launched its ‘No More Butts’ initiative, which saw messages temporarily placed on drains in St Helier, and both the honorary and States police forces being asked to remind smokers that discarding cigarette litter was unacceptable.
Mr Crowcroft said they were beginning to look again at the campaign.
Littering is an offence under the Policing of Roads Regulations 1959 and can incur a fine – but there have been just eight instances of littering dealt with by the police and none of them involved cigarettes.
Mrs Brockie, a former Pride of Jersey Environmentalist of the Year winner, encouraged people to buy pocket-sized portable ashtrays. She said: ‘What you do to your health is up to you, but by throwing away your cigarettes, you are damaging the environment.’
Tackling litter
In 2018, the Parish of St Helier offered smokers free pouches in a bid to make them bag their butts and keep the town centre clean.
During the JEP’s annual Parish Clean-Up, which took place in June, cigarette butts were among the most-collected kind of litter, along with plastic and glass bottles. The most unusual item was a piece of a metal gate.
