Litter wardens to patrol council HQ

Published on Thursday 21 August 2008 10:24

LITTER wardens have been ordered to patrol outside council buildings after they caught a local government worker dropping a cigarette butt.

The member of staff from the city council's Waverley Court headquarters, on Market Street, was hit with a 50 fine.

In an internal memo, obtained by the Evening News, council chiefs have admitted the incident was of "particular embarrassment" to the local authority.

They have warned staff that the public expects a "high standard of behaviour" and said the patrols will continue.

Councillor Paul Edie, the city's community safety leader, said: "Anti-littering laws are applicable to all city residents and visitors, including City of Edinburgh Council employees.

"Whilst most people are law-abiding, individuals who drop litter can be issued with a 50 fixed penalty notice. The message is simple – if you drop litter you can be fined, if you fail to pay the fine you will be reported to the procurator fiscal. Environmental wardens patrol all areas of the city."

The memo sent to staff read: "Recently a member of staff from Waverley Court was served with a 50 fixed penalty notice and reported to the procurator fiscal for smoking-related litter. Littering by council staff is a particular embarrassment to the council.

"We all represent the council during work hours, and the public expect a high standard of behaviour. Wardens will continue to regularly patrol the areas outside council buildings.

"The city centre and parks teams have been working hard to clean up the city centre and improve its visual appearance. We would expect this effort to be supported by staff in council buildings by being vigilant about litter.

"In particular, we would encourage staff to dispose of cigarette litter in the bins provided. Managers of staff without e-mail access should make sure their staff are aware of the content of this message."

The memo did contain a mistake, however, as the member of staff was not actually reported to the fiscal. This only happens when someone refuses to pay the fine.

The council declined to reveal further details about the culprit.

Labour group environment spokeswoman, Councillor Maureen Child, said today: "This person must feel a bit of a twit to be served with a fine by a council colleague.

"It is an embarrassment for the council. Council workers and councillors have to be careful not to bring embarrassment to their employers.

"If anyone drops litter, they have to pay the consequences. I can never understand why people don't put cigarette butts in the litter bins."

The council first introduced environmental wardens in 2001, giving them the power to issue 50 fines.

In May, a cleanliness survey of the Capital by Keep Scotland Beautiful gave the city its highest ever score.