Should school pupils be fined for dropping litter?

Schoolchildren planning to scribble ‘I woz here’ on the sports hall wall or chuck their empty cheesy Wotsits packet on the yard should beware.

The rubbish police are after you. That’s if you live in East Ayrshire Council’s area. The Scottish authority has just approved a scheme that means students in any of its high schools will be fined £80 if caught littering.

The proviso is the fixed penalty notice will be withdrawn if they agree to attend a supervised litter pick.

Let’s just step back and process that. Schools are being told to fine pupils for throwing litter on their premises. Not in the local park or outside the chippie, but inside the school gates.

Of course, the young people themselves won’t pay the penalty – that duty will fall on to their parents. And it will doubtless be the council that chases up the fine, rather than a headteacher.

Yet we’re veering into dangerous territory. It smacks of criminalising schoolchildren. Whatever next? Giving lollipop ladies PCSO powers?

East Ayrshire’s policy is the brainchild of councillor Sally Cogley, who founded the Rubbish Party. She says the scheme has already been trialled at one school with great success and the council will now become the first in the UK to fully adopt it.

It’s essentially extending the fixed penalty notices that can be issued to adults.

I’m actually a fan of fining adult litter bugs. It’s an awful habit and they really ought to know better.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen people selfishly discarding chocolate wrappers on the street or tossing cigarette butts out of their car window. It makes you wonder whether they do the same at home.

Sometimes I fantasise about following these idiots all the way to their front doors and then throwing their rubbish into their driveway. But usually I just scowl at them if I’m driving in the car behind.

My local authority - Newcastle Borough Council - has just increased its fixed penalty fines for littering from £75 to £100. You also risk the same fine for graffiti or fly-posting.

But the council officers only fine people aged 18 or over, who are legally responsible for their actions. Eleven to 16-year-olds are still minors.

Young people attend school to be educated, so the obvious place to start is to educate them about why they shouldn’t drop litter. If they flagrantly break the rules at school, there are already sanctions available, such as detentions or suspensions.

Lots of schools run eco-clubs where pupils volunteer to carry out litter picks. They also look at how they can improve their school environment.

Admittedly, the message doesn’t stick with every student. Only a couple of weeks ago, I witnessed a schoolgirl carelessly throw a wrapper on the ground as she came out of a shop in Hanley.

But when young people take up the anti-litter crusade, they can be a powerful force. Just take six-year-old Jo Hughes as an example.

The Trent Vale youngster was so fed-up at seeing rubbish near her school that she organised a petition, asking Stoke-on-Trent City Council for a litter bin to be installed. She’s now won her campaign.

Adults can drive community pride too. Debi Allbutt, from Norton , recently launched the ‘view from your door’ initiative to encourage residents to clean up the front of their homes. She also staged a community litter pick and involved local school pupils.

It’s everyone’s responsibility to avoid dropping litter. But fining a child is not the answer.

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