Uniformed posses of “bin police” are set to replace traffic wardens as the most loathed busybodies on the streets.

So far they have slapped fixed penalties of up to £100 on more than 2,000 householders for environmental misdemeanours such as overfilling wheelie bins, leaving out too many bags or putting rubbish out at the wrong time.

Councils are now sending wardens on a £299 “waste crime” course, run by Keep Britain Tidy, to hone their tactics for prosecution.

More than 20 councils employ inspectors to look for what the government calls “waste receptacle” offenders, and have issued fines of £110,000 over the past two years.

Eric Pickles, the shadow local government spokesman, has accused the councils of seeking to turn rubbish collection into a cash cow by creating trivial offences. “It’s testing the public’s patience to the limit,” he said.

Kensington and Chelsea in London has issued the most fines in England. In 2006-7 its 28 bin wardens fined 250 households £50 each for leaving their rubbish out on the wrong day or at the wrong time, rising to 421 last year at £80 a go, generating income of £46,500. Residents are allowed to put their rubbish out only at 7am on the day of collection. Doing so even minutes earlier could result in a fine.

In Plymouth the council’s four bin wardens have issued 269 fines in the past two years, generating £12,200. Darlington, Co Durham, which has three bin wardens, issued 285 fines worth £22,410 to people for leaving their bins out on the wrong day. It has also prosecuted 65 people for failing to pay the fines, more than any other council questioned.

Nicola Rowland, the council’s head of antisocial behaviour and environmental enforcement, said bin wardens routinely went through the contents of bin bags put out on the wrong day to find “evidence”, such as an envelope, to identify the offender.

The council’s wardens wear a uniform of a white polo shirt, black fleece with the council’s logo, a high visibility jacket, combat trousers and air-cushioned boots. They are paid £19,000 a year.

Rowland said: “It gives us the opportunity to go in and hit hard where we want to, but we are also criticised as a result. Some people think it’s about making money, but it isn’t. It’s a short sharp shock.”

The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, which came into force in April 2006, created powers to impose a £100 fixed penalty.

Doretta Cocks, head of the Campaign for Weekly Waste,a campaign group, said: “Rifling through people’s rubbish is a complete invasion of privacy. The councils are so hard up and keen to keep council tax down that this is a new revenue stream. Bin fines are becoming the new parking tickets.”

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