The Mail
2nd September 2009

Families could face fines of more than £500 for breaking wheelie bin rules.
Draconian new town hall tactics mean every adult in a household is hit with a £110 fine, rather than just one.

A family including an adult couple, two children over 18 and a grandparent could, in theory, be hit with five fines totalling £550.
The penalties are imposed for 'offences' such as putting a bin out too early or taking it in too late, leaving out extra sacks of rubbish and over-filling the bin.

Prime targets for mass fines are multi-occupancy properties, particularly student homes, where there is no clear head of the household.
In one house, four adults had to pay £440 for failing to take their bin off the pavement on time.

That is more than five times the £80 spot fine that would usually be given by police to someone caught shoplifting.

Other key points:

The scale of penalties for 'environmental crime' compares with average court fines of £285 for sex offenders, £237 for violent thugs and £286 for fraudsters, although these are often imposed alongside other punishments.

The Daily Mail's Not in My Front Yard campaign has highlighted the unpopularity of wheelie bins. The multiple fine system is spreading among councils who find it easier to target everyone in a house rather than identify a responsible individual.

Tory local government spokesman Caroline Spelman said: 'This is an unacceptable and draconian abuse of state powers by town hall bullies. Spurred on by Government guidance, clipboard-wielding bin inspectors are hitting hardworking families with arbitrary and unfair fines.

Full article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1210570/Families-charged-500-leaving-wheelie-bins-wrong-day.html#comments#ixzz0PwMmnNTO


Fluff.........

Their seem no end to the wheelie bin saga, councils are always looking for new revenues on refuge collections, weighing chips,fortnightly collections and non collection on open lids or removal of extra bags!!

The local council tax on top of your national taxes goes to far any way but fining for not putting out and taking in your bin on the right day is pretty dumb. my collection is 06:00am so I know where they can swing.. If we all go to court if fined we can overload the courts with petty crap, it would put a strain on them and it would soon be dropped...

Don't you love local councils their more corrupt than the government..