Not quite, if they get a foot in the door then yes, but if you have it open a crack (e.g. on a security chain), then nope.
The most UK thing ever: fined for pouring coffee down a drain
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Not quite, if they get a foot in the door then yes, but if you have it open a crack (e.g. on a security chain), then nope.
For those asking, yes, this is technically illegal. According the BBC News article on this, “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.” Pouring the end of a cup of coffee down the drain hardly seems like what the act is actually intended to prohibit.
Highlighted the key part there. The volume she disposed of is in no way likely to do that.
Soldato
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Well, yeah. The “likely” is doing some heavy lifting.
That doesn’t really have any bearing on whether or not the behaviour was illegal.
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It’s just a total non-sequitur from you. People here had been disputing whether it was illegal. I said yes, it is - very thinly - arguable that it is. Then you show up saying she could just walk off. Well, ok, but what’s that got to do with the price of fish?oh no!
You got any other random unrelated statements you want to throw in?
What's the legal definition of "pollute"? Most people's common understanding of that term would be something toxic/harmful...
Not only is the volume not likely to do that, is even a full cup of coffee never mind a tiny bit of one, going to “pollute”?
Considering what gets washed down drains, is some consumer coffee going to do anything.
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Compared to coffee plantations polluting the land and the initial deforestation and burning, the economic pollution of the industry to producers, the long miles to end user and transportation by fossil fuel carriers.
Very small beer.
No.
The whole thing is absurd. I imagine gallons of washer fluid from cars ends up down storm drains, which would be far more harmful. It's laughable to pull someone up and say the dregs of their coffee is "polluting" a drain/sewer.
In some countries you can get a big fine for that (some states in the US as well afaik), you aren't allowed to let the run off go down drains. In the UK that gets ignored but you get fined for a few ml of coffee...
This is on par with council wombles jumping out of bushes and fining people for having a pee.
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Soldato
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I imagine those places also fine lots of people for such transgressions on a frequent basis. It's fine if everybody gets done for it, but as with so many laws the UK approach is to target just the lowest-hanging fruit.
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I was amused when the fine got cancelled. I thought it more for the bad reaction on social media rather than someone deciding the act wasn't actually illegal.
Who?
How on earth can it be illegal when millions pour dregs of coffee/tea down their kitchen sink which mostly goes into the same drains ?
Isn't that the thing - it's different systems (storm vs sewers), one of which goes into the environment and the other goes to a processing "plant"?
Pretty sure storm drains aren’t treated the way household waste water is.