Wardens to alight on butts litterer

Litter wardens are bracing themselves for an increase in cigarette litter when the smoking ban is introduced on Monday. As smoking is banned in offices and workplaces, staff who wish to smoke will have to move outdoors.

Cigarette butts and their associated litter account for 60 per cent of litter in this State, according to Ms Jackie O'Reilly, Dublin City Council's anti-litter officer. "We do expect cigarette litter will increase when the ban comes into full force," she said yesterday.

In a recent survey, 32 per cent of smokers said they would simply go outside to smoke when the ban came in. For some staff in city centre offices, the only option will be to smoke at the front door of the building.

Ms O'Reilly said the council accepted that it was difficult for smokers as they were being forced on to the streets to smoke. Nevertheless, they would still have to comply with the anti-litter laws. Anyone caught throwing a cigarette butt faces a €125 fine under the Litter Act. That will rise to about €300 and €150 in city council costs if the case goes to court.

Dublin City Council has been receiving a steady stream of calls from employers asking what they should do about staff smoking outside offices. The council has encouraged employers to provide ash trays or similar receptacles where they expect smokers to congregate.

Meanwhile, Cork City Council has advised employers to check with their planning authority before fixing such containers to walls. Planning permission may be needed, depending on the building and the receptacle being used, said Mr John Jones, senior officer in the council's environment section.

Last September, Dublin City Council distributed 20,000 portable ashtrays free of charge to Dublin smokers to encourage them to stop throwing their butts on city streets. It has ordered an extra 1,000 for distribution through its offices and libraries in the coming weeks.