VALE Royal Borough Council is running a campaign to remind people that cigarette butts are litter and should be disposed of correctly.
The council’s SMYLE (Supporting My Local Environment) team will be around the borough talking to the public to raise awareness of the consequences if caught littering.
Anyone caught dropping anything from cigarette butts to fast-food wrappers will be issued with a fixed penalty notice by PCSOs and could be fined up to £75.
Pubs in town centres are being given drip mats, portable ashtrays and posters to help remind smokers that it is a criminal offence to drop litter in the streets.
The awareness campaign began on Monday. Remaining dates and venues are:
Thursday, January 29 – Winsford Market, 10am-3pm
January 30 – Northwich town centre, 10am-3pm.
Cllr Lynn Riley, lead councillor for environmental management, said: “Cigarette butts leak toxins that have severe impacts on the environment and they can take more than five years to degrade. It is important that people are responsible and dispose of rubbish correctly.”
