Burcu Yesilyurt was issued with a fine — since rescinded — of £150 for tipping coffee down a drain

How many Richmond council waste enforcement officers does it take to punish a young woman, eager to avoid a potential spillage on public ­transport, for conscientiously tipping her coffee dregs down a drain before boarding a bus? ­Answer: a crack team of three. Despite feeling intimidated by this all-male trio, Burcu Yesilyurt stood firm, argued her case … and promptly got hit with a £150 fixed penalty notice that she refused to pay. Good for her. You might say she has ample grounds for complaint.

Richmond is a genteel borough in southwest London. Nonetheless, it is safe to assume that, as Ms Yesilyurt was emptying her reusable cup in the gutter, more serious offences within the three officers’ remit were simultaneously taking place close by. Casual individual littering? Almost certainly. Organised fly-tipping? Quite possibly. Unscrupulous traders illegally disposing of noxious products such as cooking fat, sump oil or surplus paint? It’s not unheard of, even in Richmond. Ms Yesilyurt might be forgiven for thinking she presented a soft target for a little light revenue-raising.

Ms Yesilyurt was punished under section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which outlaws the disposal of waste in a way likely to ­pollute land or water. It is unlikely the framers of this legislation had cups of cold coffee in mind.

No signage warned that such disposal was illegal and, while ignorance of the law is no defence, it feels reasonable to point out that the reason Ms Yesilyurt (and, no doubt, everyone else who lacks specialist knowledge) failed to realise her actions constituted an offence was because what she did was wholly harmless. It was suggested that she ought to have tipped her dregs in a bin, surely a much messier outcome. Richmond council has belatedly rescinded the fine, but its officers should wake up and smell the coffee on their priorities.