A woman from west London who was fined £150 for pouring the dregs of her morning coffee down a street drain has had the penalty revoked after a council review.
Three enforcement officers stopped Burcu Yesilyurt near Richmond station on 10 October and handed her a fixed-penalty notice on her way to work.
Richmond council initially defended the fine, saying it had been issued “in line with its policies”, but cancelled it on Wednesday afternoon. In an email sent to Yesilyurt at about 3pm, the council said: “I can advise that on review the fixed penalty notice has been cancelled.”
Yesilyurt, who lives in Kew, said she believed she had been acting responsibly when she emptied a small amount of coffee from her reusable cup before boarding her bus.
“I noticed my bus was approaching, so I just poured the leftover bit,” Yesilyurt told the BBC. “It wasn’t much – just a tiny little bit. As soon as I turned around, three men, enforcement officers, were chasing me, and they stopped me immediately.
I thought it was about the bus. I had no clue pouring liquid into a drain was illegal. It was quite a shock.”
The officers told her she was in breach of section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which makes it an offence to dispose of waste in a way that could pollute land or water. Richmond council had initially said that its officers “acted professionally and objectively”.
Yesilyurt said she had asked the officers whether there were any signs warning the public about the rule, but was given no answer. “I asked if there were any signs or anything saying you can’t pour coffee away,” she said. “They didn’t answer me.” She described the encounter as “quite intimidating” and said she felt shaky afterwards. “They told me I did something criminal,” she said.
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When she asked what she should have done with the remaining coffee, Yesilyurt said she was told to pour it into a nearby bin. “It feels quite unfair,” she said. “I think the fine is extreme. It’s not proportionate.”
A spokesperson for Richmond council had said earlier that footage from the officers’ body-worn cameras had been reviewed and the authority did “not agree that officers behaved aggressively”.
“Footage confirms the officers acted professionally and were sensitive to the circumstances,” they 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.”
The £150 fine could have been reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days. Yesilyurt lodged a formal complaint with the council and called for clearer signage near bins and bus stops to warn residents about the rules.
