Friends of environment seek harsher penalties for litterbugs

Friends of environment seek harsher penalties for litterbugs

July 19, 2016
Motorists who throw waste out of car windows face a fine of up to SR200. — File photo
Motorists who throw waste out of car windows face a fine of up to SR200. — File photo

JEDDAH — Environmental activists have demanded stricter penalties for littering on the Corniche, Makkah newspaper reported.

Jeddah Divers official spokesman Fahd Al-Zahrani said the municipality must slap fines on people littering in public places and penalize anyone who vandalizes public property and prevent them from enjoying such facilities.

“The country paid billions of riyals to build parks and public spaces that are environmentally healthy for the use of the general public. People go to parks and to the Corniche to have fun and enjoy a family day out. The least that they need is pollution that repels them from the site,” said Al-Zahrani.

He also said the municipality already has placed garbage skips all over the Corniche and is imposing penalties on anyone found littering.

“There is a SR100 fine for littering in front of a house, a minimum fine of SR1,000 and a maximum fine of SR5,000 for littering in front of a restaurant and a minimum fine of SR100 and a maximum fine of SR200 for littering from a car,” said Al-Zahrani.

He added there is a minimum fine of between SR1,000 and SR5,000 for littering by vegetable markets.

“The fine for littering by deli shops is SR1,000 to SR5,000 while it is SR500 to SR1,000 for grocery stores,” said Al-Zahrani.

He also said there is a fine of between SR2,000 and SR5,000 for littering by food product factories.

“These penalties are not implemented everywhere when they should be. The municipality should put in place strict regulations against littering in order to keep a clean and healthy public space,” said Al-Zahrani.


July 19, 2016
HIGHLIGHTS