Cleaning computers on the street outside a computer shop classed as littering?

jamesfreddie · 15 Jul 2012 at 22:10

My friend has a computer shop and has a small compressor which he was using to clean dust out of customers machines. He has done this for years without a problem. However he has had a couple of customers come in and have dropped a cigarette but on the floor outside, then a man came in a finned them both a on the spot fine.

He is now worried that cleaning dust out of computers on the street is classed as littering.

Is this correct?

Is it allowed to clean computers on the street?

StriderX · 15 Jul 2012 at 22:14

How is dust litter?

Id love to see that proven in court.

Raymond Lin · 15 Jul 2012 at 22:14

I would ask the official to point out where is the "littering" on the floor.

You can obviously spot a cigarette but how is he going to distinguish between this piece of dust to that piece...

Or have a big fan blowing

doofer · 15 Jul 2012 at 22:15

The getting finned bit sounds a bit fishy to me.

jamesfreddie · 15 Jul 2012 at 22:16

Well some customers machines are in a right state so there are big lumps of it on the ground.

I would wonder how they would prove it as most would go in the air anyway.

Azza · 15 Jul 2012 at 22:18

doofer said:
The getting finned bit sounds a bit fishy to me.

StriderX · 15 Jul 2012 at 22:19

Just tell your friend to get the fine person to look at a heatsinkless CPU being booted up.

Then run like hell.

Nexus · 15 Jul 2012 at 22:20

Surely a fine in the shop would have been for smoking in a business premises, rather than because somebody dropped litter?

jamesfreddie · 15 Jul 2012 at 22:21

Nexus said:
Surely a fine in the shop would have been for smoking in a business premises, rather than because somebody dropped litter?

No they dropped it outside.

Nexus · 15 Jul 2012 at 22:26

jamesfreddie said:
No they dropped it outside.

Your OP said otherwise:

However he has had a couple of customers come in and have dropped a cigarette but on the floor, then a man came in a finned them both a on the spot fine.

jamesfreddie · 15 Jul 2012 at 22:29

Nexus said:
Your OP said otherwise:

Sorry that wasen't what i said in the OP.

RetiredGreyFox · 15 Jul 2012 at 22:36

jamesfreddie said:
Sorry that wasen't what i said in the OP.

Yes it was, you edited your post at 22:29

Cr0fty · 15 Jul 2012 at 22:37

"You either my suck my dust or my balls, bitch"

*Cue sunset walk-off and Can't Get No Satisfaction chorus*

Nexus · 15 Jul 2012 at 22:56

jamesfreddie said:
Sorry that wasen't what i said in the OP.

Why lie?

C.R.A.Z.Y · 15 Jul 2012 at 22:56

As a business owner he has a responsibility to not effect the area/environment where he works in a negative way!
If his cleaning computers and leaving significant piles of dust/fluff/crud on the street then his being an idiot and should sweep it up and dispose of responsibly like any civilized person would.
The rules of rubbish and pollution from business's is much stricter than it is for the general public and rightly so, if you make a mess bloody well clean it up!!

Glaucus · 15 Jul 2012 at 23:00

Raymond Lin said:
I would ask the official to point out where is the "littering" on the floor.

You can obviously spot a cigarette but how is he going to distinguish between this piece of dust to that piece...

Or have a big fan blowing

Massive clump of dust, compare to normall dust. Look inside a computer which hasn't been cleaned for a few years and. It's easy to spot and point out on the floor.

BloodyL · 15 Jul 2012 at 23:46

When someone drops a ciggy butt on a companies premises, both the smoker and the business owner are fined, as has happened in this case.
How on earth you've extrapolated that into dust I've no idea.

spoffle · 16 Jul 2012 at 00:01

BloodyL said:
How on earth you've extrapolated that into dust I've no idea.

This, I don't get it.

Op is a bit weird too if he's editing his posts then denying he said what it originally said. :confused:

LeeUK · 16 Jul 2012 at 01:34

Probably some back street trader that flouts all the H&S, employment, environmental laws and allows smoking in the shop, etc.

Drukk · 16 Jul 2012 at 02:10

Can't he clean them out the back of the shop or something?

I would n't think cleaning peoples computers out the front of the shop in the street looks to professional more than anything.