Lara man fined for throwing cigarette

A LARA man’s careless flick of the wrist from his moving truck at Fyansford has cost him more than $1,500,

A witness reported seeing the man throw a burning cigarette butt from his Ford Ranger while travelling along the Hamilton Highway at Fyansford, on the afternoon of August 9 last year.

EPA Victoria issued the man with a fine of $769, and he chose to take the case to the Geelong Magistrates’ Court, where he entered a plea of not guilty.

The magistrate found the charge was proven but did not record a conviction.

The Lara man was fined $100, and ordered to pay EPA’s legal costs of $1,411, which means the careless act cost him a total of $1,511; almost twice the cost of the original littering fine.

According to the EPA’s website, examples of types of litter include cigarette butts, plastic bags, food packaging and drinks containers.

The EPA states people can report littering by the driver or the passenger of a vehicle that is on a road or in a car park, regardless of if the vehicle is moving or parked.

Fines for an individual are either $385 for a small item of litter such as a cigarette butt or food packaging or $769 for a lit cigarette or other dangerous litter.

For more information about reporting litter from vehicles, head to epa.vic.gov.au/report-pollution/report-litter-from-vehicles