Obviously the average potential to collect from householders exceeds that from drunks and shoplifters. It's just the maths, nothing unusually sinister...

colin, shrewsbury,

I live in Germany, and most of the bin lids I see here are open a bit - and this country seems to function OK, so why is it such a problem in the UK?

There shoud be an over-riding principle in all Laws - No Victim - No Crime! - where is the victim when a bin lid is open?

Neil Kerslake, Fallingbostel, Germany

We've gone from Bin Laden to Bin Lids to terrorise the people into obedience.
Whatever will they think of next one way pavements and fines for doing u-turns....... oops maybe I just gave someone an idea!!

Maureen Haley, Cremosano, Italy

Time for civil disobedience: everybody opt for prosecution, then demand that the council prove its case. This involves sending somebody to court who saw the offending bin and has the status to argue. They will not be able to (too dumb, too bureaucratic) and practically all cases will be dismissed.

Rosemary, Germany,

Another incident detailing the slow circling of the drain of the Once Great UK.

Craig, Miami, USA

RIP the Government!!

A.Newman, London, UK

There is an easy and obvious way to solve the problem of overfilled bins, and that is to empty them more frequently. It is absurd for this country to start limiting bin collections at a time when there are more people in the country than ever before, and thus more rubbish.

Virginia Stephen, London, UK

Keep it up Gordon. It's issues like this that will put New Labour in the trash can of history.

Richard, Cambridge,

What happens if one has a large family and thus more rubbish than a person living alone? Is one to have personal rubbish allowances or is it an allowance for a household? Are these allowances transferable or even saleable?

william Haines, Northwood,

Purnell forcing people to do community work for their benefits opens a gap in the market. The unemployed will be doing what is currently done by criminals, so make criminals sort rubbish at the tip. This is a decent punishment and the general public does not have to sort rubbish at home.

Don, Bude,

Such heavy fines (£75-£110) for such a trivial things as putting the bin out the evening before collection or even having the lid slightly open, making them heavier fines than those imposed on shoplifters make the government seem to persecute the law-abiding worse than the real criminals.

Robert Neil Coupe, Preston, Lancashire

What do they suggest you're *supposed* to do with your rubbish if one week you have a little more than usual? Stink up the neighbourhood by storing it for another week?

Brett, London, UK

Full bin ? collection every 2 weeks ? Just burn the surplus down the back of your garden

Gavin, London, UK

I suppose now that everyones given up smoking they have to get the money from somewhere!

I thought that council tax was paid so that among other things the council would empty our bins, or is that something else I have wrong?

Why do we always seem to be paying more for less?

BG

Bill Glanvill, Horsham, W Sussex

Like speed cameras and internet downloading, this is an example of looting of the people using the pretence of law as a cover. Its happening everywhere, coincidently at a time when our ruling lords and masters have borrowed themselves broke.

Paul, Cairns, Australia

Looks like Benny Hill is now running Britain.

Instead of male characters lecherously chasing scantily clad female characters, you now have officials chasing citizens over a lot of nothing and for no purpose.

It would be funny if it was on TV. However, it's real, and socialism is never funny.

John, Seattle WA , USA

The other week they refused to empty my bin, on the grounds that it contained builders waste. Yes it appears that removing your old polystyrene ceiling tiles complete with paint flakes and the odd bit of plaster here or there, is now classified as building waste, in fact, anything a DIYer might do!

Taxpayer, London, UK

If we didn't want madness like this, we shouldn't have voted Neo Labour in the first place. So now we are fed up with this lot we vote for another set of lunatics to take their place. We are living in a two party state controlled by the establishment. Nothing will change unless we change it!

Nic, london, U.K

"Junk mail, inserted fliers, prepacked goods, wrapped veg, Display packaging around vaccum packs"
I like to forward all my junk mail to town hall. I recomend others join me, or send it to 10 Downing Street. They will soon get the message.

dc, doncaster, uk

This is beyond belief! What a nannie state. I am thankful that my grandmother migrated to the USA .

John, Encinitas, USA

This is a brilliant example of why our petty, vindictive government needs the boot.

Steve B, Derby, UK

more fly tipping then?

Philip Barnes, preston, england

So if you don't like your neighbour, go and open his bin lid when he's not looking.

Keith, Cosat Blanca, Spain

Where I live, the streets are swept every morning and leaves collected.

The rubbish is collected every morning too and this is in the rural part of Hong Kong. My rates, equivalent to council tax is minimal compared to what I paid in London. Will return for the sake to vote wretched Labour out .

Asw, Hong Kong,

This is not a fine it is just another tax by your less than friendly neighborhood communist (Labour) party who want to stick their size nines & noses in everyone business. Taxes up service down and local authority interference up with these jack-booted stalinists who sole perogrative is to intefere

steve tea, manchester, cheshire

Don't panic Mr Mainwaring !
If your bin is 4" open are you sure that you put the last object in?
Could it have been someone passing it putting something extra in? Where is the evidence beyond reasonable doubt that says you are responsible?

Richard, Greater Manchester,

My local wiltshire newspaper reports that binmen are upset that householders are not putting out their garden waste bins every two weeks but waiting until the bins are full. Apparently this is not nice for the binmen who have to sift through rotting and smelly rubbish. ....Only in Nulab lala land

MikeV, a Wiltshire Town , Witshire

How can you, the english people, live with those monsters in charge?

Rune, Aurskog, Norway

This beggars belief. These announcements are coming thick and fast.
Hillary Benn should go to the point of source instead of this punitive attack at the point of use. Junk mail, inserted fliers, prepacked goods, wrapped veg, Display packaging around vaccum packs etc. Penalise the manufacturers.

Alan, Houghton-Le-Spring, Durham

First the gov't needs to make councils take ALL recyclable material. We recently had a council official writing to the paper whining they couldn't take alu containers in case its the "wrong type of aluminimium" and "there's no market for recyclable plastic"

PATHETIC!!!!

Melanie, Shoreham-By-Sea, W Sussex

Only solution this Government has to any problem is to tax it. Dont they know they are just making people poorer

Chris, Woodbridge, England

Perhaps the mandarins in "defra" (!) should be made to retire, and be replaced by people who have some real hands-on experience and knowledge of the environment, food, and rural affairs.
Or perhaps "defra" should be scrapped altogether. It's difficult to see what contribution it makes (if any).

bob wilkinson, milnthorpe, cumbria uk

We should fine the government for their very lax immigration controls. Had the population not increased to the huge extent that it has over the last 10 years then we wouldn't be filling landfil at such an alarming rate. People will fill their neighbours bins and tipping will rise.

Bob, stoke,

I would be prepared to invest in a £100 fine to publicise these disgusting totalitarian measures.

This will be worth another 2% off the Government's poll ratings and another nail in the coffin of the Labour party.

Ray, Cambridge,

Maybe the government should be find for churning out excess garbage.
We put them there to lead us & look after our interests, not whup! our buts at every chance they get.
I wondered where the 16% wage increase they voted themselves was coming from.
Pete (Cappo) leeds.

P.CAPSTICK, LEEDS, ENGLAND

This Government and local council's are nothing short of bullies.
If this government get back in, its got to be fixed, nobody in there right mind would vote for a government which openly bullies its people.
Its time for a general election, before Brown and his loony Government see us all behind bars

Yachydda, Wrexham, Wales

Firstly they do away with weekly collections so we have more rubbish piling up. Now they are going to charge us for leaving our bin open. How families cope I do not know. The local authorities would not be able to cope if nobody pays the fines. DON'T ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN. Rubbish TAX riots soon.

Philip, Huntingdon, UK

Unbelievable. We actually pay the Councils to check our bins and fine us

Andy, peterborough, uk

The council tax in Cyprus is less than £10 a year. I pay about £2000 in England. Why do we pay all this money and now fines on trivial things

adam, london, uk

This means many law abiding people will have a criminal record.

Which affects them travelling abroad and also when applying for new careers.

This is stupid. Great news for loan sharks who can prey on the poor.

Where is the money going to after it is collected?

Jill, Gloucs, U.K

This government went potty a long time ago It is now completely insane and belongs in the rubbish bin of history

Eddy, Bolton,

Another stealth tax...doesn't this government realise...people are sick and tired of been taxed to death...surely, the government should get the money from companies who are making obscene profits

geedale, leeds, west yorkshire

God, I hate this government! It's 4 days before my forhtnightly collection and the bin is crawling with maggots-healthy, no? How long before bin men refuse to empty it becasue it's a health & safety hazard? If councils didn't misspend funds so wantonly there wouldn't be this infuriating mess!

Katherine, London,

What happens when the wind blows the bin lids open, or when kids on the estate run round opening the bins when they see the bin police coming?

Maybe the councils should supply padlocks.

Bob, Leeds,

In democracies, such as our country still is, fines should be for minor infractons of the the criminal law. It is only in communist countries, like China, that fines are levied for being out of line with centrally-decreed social norms.

Chris, Ashford, Middx, in the still democratic England

A campaign of civil disobedience is the only way of dealing with the punitive repression that is being dished out by this governemnet and its lacky local council enforcers.

Everyone who gets a fine should simply refuse to pay. It will soon cause a U-turn. Remember the poll-tax riots?

paul r, kingston,

These measures should be directed towards the creators of this waste - the packaging industry, the supermarkets, the direct maketing (spam) industry etc. I resent being told by the politicians to cut down on the rubbish that I don't want to receive in the first place.

Chris, Ashford, Middx, England

These measures are illogical and oppressive. We pay Council Tax to provide services such as rubbish collection. No mention there of the lid not being open! Will the council pay me, say, £500 for the weeks when my bin is only half full? Why not? We never used to have to put our bins out at all!

Tom Welsh, Basingstoke,

Instead of penalizing people for overfilling their bins with rubbish, the Government should be fining Manufacturers and Supermarket for producing too many goods packed in material that cannot be recycled.
Wake up Labour Party.

Ian, Halstead,

And while they contemplate lunacy like this, the Labour Party argues about who should lead it! Can't they see it's the whole lot of them we are sick of - and their dangerously insane ideas?

Tom Welsh, Basingstoke,

When do the contents of our bins pass out of our control?
I saw a neighbour leave my front early one morning. Then as I dropped a last piece of rubbish in the bin before going to work I spotted trash that was not mine.

Steven Knowles, Farnham,

Gordon Brown sure knows how to win votes don't he. It's a pity he then does the complete opposite.

Arthur, Newcastle,

The bin collection in my area is 6am on Wednesday morning. Please, is the government suggesting that I will be fine by putting my bin out the night before? Ok, my job starts from 4pm - midnight. So, am I to get up at 5.30 so as not to get fine? And the gov wonders y their popularity slumps-IDIOT!

d, london,

Another nail in the Nu-Labour coffin. (Which hasn't been left open by more than 4 inches)

AndyM, Rotherham,

Well from now on all my unwanted packaging will stay in the trolley at Tesco's for them to shift.

Why is Hillary Benn not targeting the manufacturers and supermarkets up stream rather than the down stream recipients ?.

NuLabour should be dispatched as soon as possible

John Smith, Tadcaster,

How clever of profligate councils! When they want to squander more of the ratepayers' treasure, don't talk of taxes. Just impose a new set of extortionate fines that can be passed off as "socially responsible".

Bob Evans, Anaheim, California

Meanwhile more and more councils empty bins every 2 weeks instead of weekly,nice little earner.
Don't forget to put the lid down properly when Labour get binned at the next General Election.

Dave, Devon,

Britain is so backward with its system of rubbish collection. Copy Spain where there is a collection every day for kitchen waste, even Sundays, but residents have to take their recycled rubbish not more than 50 yards to large, easy to empty bins.

B J Deller, Marbella, Spain

The Country has gone mad. Thankfully we got out before all this stupidity.
Malta - rubbish collected 6 days a week and no Council tax (yet) LOL.

P Barrett, Valletta, Malta