Can you throw cigarette butts down the drain or is this classed as littering?

[Jack3d]

Can you throw them down the drain or is this also littering?
If it is littering, why?

[IggyB]

Prosecutions for littering are brought about under section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, "The offence of leaving litter".

"If any person throws down, drops or otherwise deposits in, into or from any place to which this section applies, and leaves, anything whatsoever in such circumstances as to cause, or contribute to, or tend to lead to, the defacement by litter of any place to which this section applies...he shall, be guilty of an offence".

As you do not have permission to dispose of rubbish down the drain and it does I believe cause damage to the drainage infrastructure i would argue that this would indeed be littering.

[daffy654]

If you must smoke in the street then you should buy yourself a pocket ashtray. There is absolutely no excuse for throwing your cigarette butt on the floor or in a drain.

[starone]

They are biodegradable so you could surreptitiously dig a little hole in the nearest patch of dirt and bury them.

[daffy654]

http://www.ebay.co.uk...=21&ff4=228459_228459

No excuse.

[rockyracoon]

I was with 2 friends last year that did just this in Enfield Town, they both got a £60 fine fom the ticket blokes that go round the town centre.

[starone]

What a good idea daffy, and they are not expensive.

[Jack3d]

Thanks for the answers and rocky this question came from someone i know similarly being caught by the council operative who had video evidence as he was wearing a camera and fined him £80!
Daffy yes i've heard of these and these are a good idea, do they sell these on the high street as when they first came out apparently everywhere were selling them and the other day when i asked the newsagent for one he looked at me as if i'd grown a third eye!
Why would throwing it down the drain be a crime, doesn't our human waste go down there amongst other nasties? Lets just say hypothetically that you were caught throwing one down the drain how could you be fined or charged if there isn't any evidence and what's to say that you wasn't disposing of tissue or something else?
Is there a list of what is and isn't allowed to be thrown down a drain?

[douglas9401]

http://www.longwood.e...buttbiodegradable.htm

Maybe not Starbuckone.

[The-HouseHusband]

The waste from your body goes through a different sewer system and is cleaned/filtered before discharge into the watercourse. The drains in the street are storm drains, designed to remove water from one area to another to stop flooding. It is not a case of out of site out of mind.

[The-HouseHusband]

Probably clearer than my explanation

http://www.surrey.ca/...rySewerConnection.jpg

[ummmm]

Our council used to give away the pocket ashtray pouches.

[daffy654]

http://www.ashcan.co.uk/buy.html

Tesco sell these.

[DTCwordfan]

Because a lit cigarette butt could blow up the entire sewerage system -imagine all the methane down there......

[Jack3d]

Thanks all for your participation. Daffy thanks i have a tesco near me so will be purchasing one asap. Dtcrosswordfan even though we both know the cigarette would have been extinguished a long time before reaching and potentially dangerous or explosive methane your comment certainly gave me a laugh.

[tonywiltshire]

Yes you would be littering.