Thousands of people across the country have been fined for putting out their rubbish on the wrong day.

More than a dozen councils have levied fines since the introduction of legislation a year ago enabling local authorities to pursue residents, a Times investigation has found.

Fixed penalties totalling more than £185,000 have been issued to people who put their rubbish out for the binmen too early, even if they breached the council’s time limit by only a few hours. Some householders have been targeted for leaving wheelie bins on the street.

Campaigners and residents attacked the measures last night, calling them heavy-hand-ed, and urged councils to take a more lenient approach.

Christine Melsom, founder of IsItfair, said: “Councils must be a little bit more forgiving. This is too stringent. A lot of people find it difficult to stick to a deadline if they are rushing out to work or they do not have a bin provided by the council. People are trying hard to be responsible with their rubbish, particularly when it comes to recycling. This is a heavy-hand-ed strategy by councils.”

Among the councils sticking to the letter of the law, Birmingham issued 592 penalty notices in the past 12 months, Kensington and Chelsea 365 and Cardiff 264. Fifteen more councils, including Oxford, Doncaster and Rotherham, told The Times that they were planning to introduce penalty systems in the next few months or had already done so.

Robert Alden, a Conservative councillor in Birmingham, said: “Wardens inspect the streets and warn people by putting up notices saying not to put their bags out until 6pm the night before. If they continue to put them out they get fined.

“The bags attract rats and they can start to smell if they have food in them. These are the kind of measures we have to take to deal with these problems.”

Under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, officials are allowed to issue fixed penalty notices of £100. Some councils, including Med-way and Ealing, levy a £110 fine. Fewer than half the councils that are currently penalising people offer a discount for quick payment.

A spokesman for Sheffield City Council, which issued 95 fines to householders because they put their bins out on the pavement to early, said: “The council decided to adopt this legislation last September but at first we tried to pursue a softly softly approach. We looked at the issues and tried to find solutions like alternative places for the bins. The fines are a last resort.”

Paul Bettison, chairman of the Local Government Association’s Environment Board, said: “Councils are . . . working hard to reduce the amount of rubbish sent to landfill. The waste generated is increasing year on year. Unless bold reforms are made recycling rates will not rise fast enough to meet the EU Landfill Directive, councils will be fined and taxpayers hit in the pocket.”

— The Times contacted 74 councils in England and Wales, including the largest 50 and those in London.

Cleaning up

— The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act came into effect on April 6, 2006

— Councils can issue a fixed-penalty notice to residents who persistently fail to put their rubbish out at the right time and date

— Previously, councils could use the Environmental Protection Act 1990, but this involved taking legal action which was time consuming and costly

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