Woman in west London ‘shocked’ over £150 fine for pouring coffee down drain

Three enforcement officers stopped a woman after she poured the dregs of her coffee down a drain in west London.

Burcu Yesilyurt, from Kew, was left ‘shocked’ after being fined £150 for doing what she believed was a responsible act to prevent her coffee from spilling on a bus.

She was fined under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which 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 told the BBC: ‘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 had asked the enforcement officers if there were any signs or information warning people of the law that she was unaware of, but received no response.

She described the ordeal as ‘quite a shock.’

When asking the officers where she was supposed to have poured the coffee, she was allegedly told to put it in a bin.

She is calling for the law to be made clearer with signs near bins and bus stops.

She has not paid the fine yet and has issued a complaint with the council.

If paid within 14 days, fines like these can be reduced to £100, although the council decided to cancel her fine in the end.

A Richmond Council spokesperson told Metro: ‘We have reviewed the body-worn footage of the incident.

‘From this, it is clear that a contravention took place which justified the Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) being issued.

‘Contrary to the suggestion in reports, the enforcement officers acted appropriately and with sympathy. They were in no way aggressive.

‘FPNs clearly outline that there is an appeal process available to anyone who wishes to challenge them. It is likely that, had this case progressed through that route, the notice would have been rescinded. On this occasion, the Council has therefore decided to cancel the FPN.

‘We remain committed to protecting Richmond’s waterways and keeping our borough’s streets clean and safe. We are also reviewing our advice on the disposal of liquids in a public place and will be updating this information on our website.’

People have rallied to show support for Ms Yesilyurt on social media.

One person said on Facebook: ‘The amount of spitting that’s tolerated, it seems like she would have been better spitting the coffee out, instead of pouring it down the drain like a sensible person.’

Another person wrote: ‘So she should have poured it into a bin. Which would have leaked out. Which the rain would have washed down the drain. Classic jobsworth.’

Another Facebook user questioned: ‘Why 3 enforcement officers? I wonder how many they stopped for dogs fowling pavements that day? Or people dropping litter?

‘Also would it not have been more polite to explain? This law that hardly anyone knows about? And like the lady said where should you put liquid? If you put it in the bin there would be more mess. The world’s gone mad.’

Rainwater from drains – and any other liquid poured into them – travels in the complex network of sewers crisscrossing under London.

The system is designed to carry large amounts of rainwater, but during heavy downpour, the drains can become overwhelmed.

To stop this from happening, water companies are allowed to discharge the storm overflow into rivers, including the River Thames.

In a bid to stop more raw sewage ending up in the river and to replace some of the Victorian pipes, London’s new super sewer launched in February.

The super sewer is 24 ft wide – large enough for four cars side by side – took eight years to build from Acton storm tanks in west London to Beckton Sewage Treatment plant in the east.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.