Steven Swinford
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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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Expecting early workers to wait around till 7am to put their refuse out is ludicrous!
Next time you are harrassed for leaving your bin out 'too early' on bin day, ask the binmenwho often start their day before 7amwho puts *their* bin out *after* 7am?
guy hemmings, frinton-on-Sea, england
If you don't like it, stop whining and do something about it. These are council decisions. Try voting next time.
Larry, Stratford upon Avon,
Just another inexorable step in this quasi-socialist government's march towards its own brand of fascism. Another tool to criminalise the most vulnerable and the poor. Historically, the British people have never stood for such opportunistic dictatorship for long.
Derek Barnes, London, UK
Naughty, Naughty bin fillers - you WILL be penalised. Try burglary instead, 1) they won't catch you and 2) if you are that stupid to get caught they will put you in an open prison so you can walk out!
THIS Topsy Turvy World. Honest toil - Bad!! Scam, thieving, drug peddling etc., v. good!!
M. Cawdery, Portadown, Co. UK, EU.
No wonder our taxes are excessive, more civil servants with all the excess baggage all on exorbitant wages. Less packaging, weekly collections, no stupid times in which to put your bin out. People in the ordinary world work unsocial hours, leave early in the mornings. We pay these idiots their wages
Fed up, Birmingham,
"Residents are allowed to put their rubbish out only at 7am on the day of collection"
what if your a doctor that works odd hours or a banker that has to be in the office by 7? what if your a tube worker that has to open up a station or a commuter that leaves early to get to work?
Alex, London, England
whats this govoment doing waiting to see if the whole country gonna riot against it high tax and jobs for the boys nation.
stu, broadstairs, England
£19000 a year? Is that why the councils' budget are never big enough. Time and time again this labour government has been creating these meaningless jobs to keep the employment figures up using our tax money whilst at the same time draining the national budget. They deserve to lose the elections.
joe, London,
WE pay the same (if not more) council tax for them to dispose of our rubbish for us, it's there job, yet they are now fine you for not having it ready to be collected in perfect order.
Our council tax used to cover them to seperate our rubbish, now then want us to do it and fine us if we dont.
Andy, England, UK,
until the focus is put in waste reduction then its hard to make a change. shops provide excess packaging which often councils will not accept for recycling. this has to go in a bin & takes up space. if you have filled a bin and done all possible recycling what else can you do? take it to the tip?
steve, preston,
that means that at the tip you have to get the rubbish there-by car usually. not env friendly. all for the sake of it ending up in the same place anyway. will just lead to more people fly tipping. a proper waste management solution needs to be found and fines on such a grand scale are not the answer
steve, preston,
I'm a doctor. My shifts sometimes are not social - such as the 9pm to 9am shift. What am I supposed to do?
I am sure there are many others in a similar position who by doing their job are not able to conform to these inane laws.
Richard, London, England
Rubbish collection and the recycling of the rubbish is one of the most important issues environmentally that societies face. All rate payers must attend courses which educate them on the goals that the councils have set themselves. Heavy handed fines seem counter productive.
Jim Wills, Brisbane, Australia
There is a great business opportunity here for a firm that would just take away all your rubbish, in one big bag, no questions asked and send it to some poor country where they'd be glad of the money.
Frank Upton, Solihull,
All i can say to the people of this country...you know what to do on Thursday.
Samantha Jones, Bucks, England
Oh good - another swathe of useless public employees whose final salary pensions we all have to contribute to. Wonder who they will vote for? Welcome to the client state, the Democratic Republic of Gordon Brown.
Jeremy Poynton, Frome, Somerset
Yet the total of fines is just GBP110,000! How many "bin police" salaries will that pay, let alone their perks and pensions? It seems certain councils are making a loss on this.
Tom Welsh, Basingstoke,
Fine, I'll avoid a fine by dumping my excess waste in the bin of the little old lady next door when she's not looking.
What next? DNA testing of rubbish? When manufacturers stop wrapping goods/foods in obscene amounts of packaging, we won't have this problem.
Doreen, Leeds, England
Council should first have in place all methods of waste handling, including food waste collections. This last system will transform waste to a collection of packaging mainly. Uniformity in their practices will help the public cooperate to the max.
John.
John Costigane, Johnstone, Renfrewshire
and just what are you supposed to do with your rubbish if you have to leave for work before 7am?
Rox, London,
As the lady said in the last paragraph, just another revenue stream. No different to the police, really. Unless it's murder, rape, or racial, there's no interest, and no result. But what else can you expect from these brain-dead, "pretend to be socialist" Fascists?
John Lee, Ellesmere Port SSR, Cheshire, Disunited K.
Surely putting it out the night before , as we do here, would do no harm? Whoever thought this up, was going to the heights of officiousness.
margie , victoria, australia