Bin day mistake sees locals fined £2.5k & hauled to COURT as council launches new pre-Christmas crackdown

RESIDENTS who put the “wrong” rubbish in their bins could be hauled to court and fined up to £2,500 under a new council purge.

Town hall snoopers will also be checking on reports about house-holders who leave their bins out on the street after 7pm on collection day.

Those who complain their bins were not emptied properly will also face investigation with council bosses in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, using computer records to check the claims.

But those who follow the rules will get a special reward stocked, the council equivalent of a Blue Peter Badge, for toeing the line.

Eyebrows maybe raised at how complicated the council’s recycling rules already area, for example, greetings cards can be put in bins for paper - but not cards that have glitter.

It comes as households could face piles of rotting rubbish for weeks under Labour’s new bin rules – all while council tax bills are set to soar by an average of £109.

Ministers have quietly axed Tory plans to ensure fortnightly rubbish collections, opening the door to three-weekly or even monthly pickups.

'TRAFFIC LIGHT SYSTEM'

The authority says “contamination” of recycling bins costs more than £1 million a year in extra disposal costs and loss of recycling income.

So they plan to introduce a “traffic light system” under which recycling bins found to be contaminated will receive a warning with a yellow tag on the first offence.

If contamination continues, a second offence will result in an orange tag and a letter warning of a potential fixed penalty notice.

A third instance will trigger a red tag, accompanied by a fixed penalty notice, which could carry a fine.

Residents who have previously broken the rules but then learned their lesson by sorting their bin contents will get a green tag as a reward “to reinforce positive behaviour”.

Barry Connolly, Head of Environmental Services, said: “All bins will be visually checked prior to collection and any recycling or garden waste container found to be contaminated will not be emptied.

“A contamination tag will be placed on the bin informing of the non-collection and contamination.

“Subsequent collections will only be made once the contamination has been removed and will only be on the next collection day.

“Contaminants should be removed and placed in an appropriate container for collection."

Fixed penalty notices issued can vary depending on offence, but will usually cost between £80 to £400.

If the fine is not paid, the resident could end up in court and be faced with a conviction and fine that could cost up to £2,500.

A pilot of the new crackdown will begin in two areas, which are yet to be identified, in April 2025, alongside a public consultation.

The council collect bins from 121,800 homes and 271,000 residents across 25 wards in the borough.

The fleet of bin wagons is equipped with on board technology in the cabs to check if people have not put their bins out, “contamination” of rubbish, and people putting garden waste bins out who have not paid for a permit.

Bosses say the move could help meet the council’s recycling target of 45 per cent, reduce waste management costs, and ensure that recyclable materials are properly processed.

Under the new policy, the authority's enforcement team will also investigate where complaints are made about bins being left on the kerbside past 7pm on collection day – and will consider enforcement action if the bin is not removed.

Residents who dispute a contamination tag on their bins and claim their collection was missed will face further checks.

The council’s waste management software will be used to verify whether the bin was missed or if it was tagged for contamination.

The authority says it will work on improving communication with residents to help them understand what can and cannot be recycled.

Educational campaigns through local media, digital tools, and outreach programs will focus on reducing contamination and encouraging better waste sorting.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers are fed up with wasting their time sorting through rubbish.

“While wanting to increase recycling may be a noble ambition, these increasingly complex rules and reduced collections risk punishing hard working households who make innocent mistakes.

“Local authorities should focus on providing the services residents pay for, not petty bureaucracy that belongs in the bin.”