| Re: Kew woman now not fined £150 for pouring coffee down drain in Richmond - Oct 2025 Posted by chuffed at 20:47, 22nd October 2025 |     |
Hope Chris didn't get too tied up in 'nots' doing it..
| Re: Kew woman now not fined £150 for pouring coffee down drain in Richmond - Oct 2025 Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 20:21, 22nd October 2025 | |
In the interest of accuracy, I have now amended all the headings in this particular topic.
| Re: Kew woman now not fined £150 for pouring coffee down drain in Richmond - Oct 2025 Posted by JayMac at 19:34, 22nd October 2025 | |
Indeed. Sometimes people with law enforcement powers forget about proportionality and that they are granted their powers with the consent of the public.
| Re: Kew woman now not fined £150 for pouring coffee down drain in Richmond - Oct 2025 Posted by Clan Line at 19:19, 22nd October 2025 | |
...........but three of them versus one woman is intimidating, whether they acted professionally or not.
3 against 1, smacks of getting a good "prosecution" case together. Just like it took 5 policemen to arrest the Father Ted creator for a "non crime" !
| Re: Kew woman now not fined £150 for pouring coffee down drain in Richmond - Oct 2025 Posted by JayMac at 19:08, 22nd October 2025 | |
The correct decision from the council. It wasn't a good look for them. Their enforcement officers may well have applied the letter of the law but three of them versus one woman is intimidating, whether they acted professionally or not.
When laws are broken in such a very minor way there has to be some discretion and common sense applied. Enforcement officers, according to government guidelines, are supposed to ask themselves, "Is this in the public interest?" before proceeding. Fortunately, in this case, the next level of enforcement by the council have realised that that wasn't the case. Although that may of course be face-saving following the media publicity.
Enforcement Officers Code of Practice:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6683d9b24e8630de328546a1/Code_of_practice_for_litter_and_refuse__Part_1A.pdf
| Re: Kew woman now not fined £150 for pouring coffee down drain in Richmond - Oct 2025 Posted by Mark A at 18:14, 22nd October 2025 | |
Good.
Mark
| Re: Kew woman now not fined £150 for pouring coffee down drain in Richmond - Oct 2025 Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 18:05, 22nd October 2025 | |
From the BBC:
Council U-turn on fine for coffee poured in drain
A west London council has reversed its decision to fine a woman £150 for pouring the remnants of coffee down a gully.
Burcu Yesilyurt, who lives in Kew, said she thought she was acting responsibly when she poured out a small amount of coffee from her reusable cup down the drain rather than risk spilling it on the bus she was about to catch to work.
She was stopped by three enforcement officers at the bus stop near Richmond station and issued with the fixed penalty notice (FPN).
Richmond-Upon-Thames Council said it cancelled the fine as it was "likely" that Ms Yesilyurt's appeal of the FPN "would have been rescinded because it is a minor contravention which the recipient agreed not to repeat".
Before the council cancelled the fine, Ms Yesilyurt told BBC News: "I noticed my bus was approaching, so I just poured the leftover bit. It wasn't much, it was just a tiny little bit. As soon as I turned around, I noticed three men, enforcement officers, chasing me, and they stopped me immediately."
Ms Yesilyurt said she thought they were going to speak with her about an issue with the bus when she was stopped on 10 October, and had "no clue" pouring liquid into a road gully was "illegal". She said the encounter was "quite intimidating" and she was left feeling "shaky" as she went into work. "It was quite a shock," she said.
Ms Yesilyurt added she had asked the enforcement officers if there were any signs or information warning people of the law but received no response.
On Wednesday, an email sent from the council at 15:00 BST to Ms Yesilyurt, and seen by the BBC, said: "I can advise that on review the Fixed Penalty Notice has been cancelled. Please accept my apologies for any upset or inconvenience this has caused you."
(BBC article continues)
A west London council has reversed its decision to fine a woman £150 for pouring the remnants of coffee down a gully.
Burcu Yesilyurt, who lives in Kew, said she thought she was acting responsibly when she poured out a small amount of coffee from her reusable cup down the drain rather than risk spilling it on the bus she was about to catch to work.
She was stopped by three enforcement officers at the bus stop near Richmond station and issued with the fixed penalty notice (FPN).
Richmond-Upon-Thames Council said it cancelled the fine as it was "likely" that Ms Yesilyurt's appeal of the FPN "would have been rescinded because it is a minor contravention which the recipient agreed not to repeat".
Before the council cancelled the fine, Ms Yesilyurt told BBC News: "I noticed my bus was approaching, so I just poured the leftover bit. It wasn't much, it was just a tiny little bit. As soon as I turned around, I noticed three men, enforcement officers, chasing me, and they stopped me immediately."
Ms Yesilyurt said she thought they were going to speak with her about an issue with the bus when she was stopped on 10 October, and had "no clue" pouring liquid into a road gully was "illegal". She said the encounter was "quite intimidating" and she was left feeling "shaky" as she went into work. "It was quite a shock," she said.
Ms Yesilyurt added she had asked the enforcement officers if there were any signs or information warning people of the law but received no response.
On Wednesday, an email sent from the council at 15:00 BST to Ms Yesilyurt, and seen by the BBC, said: "I can advise that on review the Fixed Penalty Notice has been cancelled. Please accept my apologies for any upset or inconvenience this has caused you."
(BBC article continues)
| Re: Kew woman now not fined £150 for pouring coffee down drain in Richmond - Oct 2025 Posted by JayMac at 13:04, 22nd October 2025 | |
Suggestion from the enforcement offers was to pour it in a bin!
What if the receptacle wasn't water tight and the coffee subsequently leaked out the bottom into a drain? Kerching. Still £150 please.
This is a stupid and unconscionable penalty. There are far worse 'pollutants' washed down storm drains everyday. The foul water goes into the sewerage system, where even more horiible stuff is sloshing around. It will all eventually end up at a treatment works. A few milliltres of coffee are not going to cause an environmental or public health incident.
This is legislation being abused by local authorities to generate income.
| Re: Kew woman now not fined £150 for pouring coffee down drain in Richmond - Oct 2025 Posted by ChrisB at 12:44, 22nd October 2025 | |
Yep - agree - she needs to take that to court....hopefully, the council will eventually do the right thing & drop the fine
| Re: Kew woman now not fined £150 for pouring coffee down drain in Richmond - Oct 2025 Posted by matth1j at 12:18, 22nd October 2025 | |
Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 makes it an offence to deposit or dispose of waste in a way likely to pollute land or water, including pouring liquids into street drains.
I'd ask for a definition of "pollute" - don't think pouring a little bit (or even a whole cup full) of coffee into a street drain is going to pollute anything based on a sensible definition?| Kew woman now not fined £150 for pouring coffee down drain in Richmond - Oct 2025 Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 12:07, 22nd October 2025 | |
From the BBC:
Burcu Yesilyurt says she had "no clue" it was illegal to dispose of liquid in a road gully
A woman says she was "shocked" when she was fined £150 for tipping the remnants of her coffee down a road gully in west London.
Burcu Yesilyurt, who lives in Kew, said she thought she was acting "responsibly" when she poured out a small amount of coffee from her reusable cup down the drain rather than risk spilling it on the bus she was about to catch to work.
But to her surprise, she was then stopped by three enforcement officers at the bus stop near Richmond station and fined under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Richmond-upon-Thames Council said its officers "acted professionally and objectively" and that the fine was issued in line with its policies.
Ms Yesilyurt said: "I noticed my bus was approaching, so I just poured the leftover bit. It wasn't much, it was just a tiny little bit. As soon as I turned around, I noticed three men, enforcement officers, chasing me, and they stopped me immediately."
Ms Yesilyurt said she thought they were going to speak with her about an issue with the bus when she was stopped on 10 October, and had "no clue" pouring liquid into a road gully was illegal. "It was quite a shock," she said.
Ms Yesilyurt said she had asked the enforcements officers if there were any signs or information warning people of the law but received no response.
Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 makes it an offence to deposit or dispose of waste in a way likely to pollute land or water, including pouring liquids into street drains.
Ms Yesilyurt was fined £150 which can be reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days. She said the encounter with the officers was "quite intimidating" and she was left feeling "shaky" as she went into work.
A Richmond Council spokesperson said that body-worn camera footage had been reviewed and they did "not agree that officers behaved aggressively".
"Footage confirms the officers acted professionally and were sensitive to the circumstances," they added.
Ms Yesilyurt said when she asked the officers what she was supposed to have done with the remaining coffee, she was told to pour it in a nearby bin. She said she had been trying to act responsibly and avoid littering. "It feels quite unfair. I think the fine is extreme. It's not proportionate," she added.
Ms Yesilyurt has called for the law to be made clearer with signs near bins and bus stops. She has yet to pay the fine and has issued a complaint with the council.
The Richmond Council spokesperson said: "Nobody likes receiving a fine, and we always aim to apply our policies fairly and with understanding. We are committed to protecting Richmond's waterways and keeping our borough's streets clean and safe. Enforcement action is only taken when necessary, and residents who feel a fine has been issued incorrectly can request a review."
