Fines a last resort in review of rules for rubbish bins
WITH a national debate about bin collections and fines, Adur and Worthing councils are reviewing their rules for rubbish.
Adur cabinet member Keith Dollemore and Worthing member Clive Roberts are set to consider a change to the policy on rubbish and recycling collections.
The revised policy aims to address some of the issues which have arisen since the introduction of wheelie bins to both areas in September, 2009.
“It is not intended to be a set of hard-and-fast rules, since there will be occasions where individuals may have circumstances that are not easily addressed by the policy document,” said waste strategy manager Paul Willis in his report to the cabinet members.
Adur and Worthing will continue to have weekly rubbish collections. The policy outlines the procedure for dealing with residents who repeatedly leave extra rubbish next to their bins.
In January, the government launched a consultation on a law to stop councils imposing bin fines on households overfilling their bins. Before the law changes, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has written to all councils asking them to reduce the level of penalties to as little as £40 from the spring.
Adur and Worthing’s policy outlines five stages for dealing with people who repeatedly leave extra rubbish outside.
The first time, the bin will be tagged providing contact details for advice and assistance; the second time, the compliance team will contact the resident directly; the third time, the resident will be given a formal notice; and, the fourth time, they will be fined £100.
If the resident continues to leave extra rubbish, they may face a criminal prosecution. Although the fine of £100 is higher than the £40 recommended by the government, Mr Willis said the councils had never had to fine a resident.
“We have always preferred an educational approach and often it is just that people are not aware they are causing a problem,” he told the Herald.
“We take a light approach as far as enforcement is concerned.”
The policy also aims to inform residents about how to get extra or bigger bins in special circumstances.
Although requests for bigger bins will usually be refused if there are fewer than five permanent residents, there are exceptions. In particular, the policy mentions disabled residents, or those with medical conditions, who may have additional medicinal packaging.
A temporary bin may also be provided to deal with a specific need; for example, a family which has just had twin babies may be given an extra bin until the youngsters are out of nappies.
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Comments
There are 8 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
PaulOckenden
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 12:51 PMThe current situation is (sorry about this) "rubbish". I sent in a form asking for a bigger bin, but Mr Willis wrote back saying no, because we don't have five people living here. In my application I explained that we have an elderly in-law staying with us, along with her animals, and that the additional load meant that the small bin wasn't big enough. I also explained that we DO recycle (we have a bigger recycling bin and it's usually full to the top), and that we DO compost. We also have a green bin. But as far as the council is concerned it's just a tick-box exercise. If you don't have five people living there, you don't get a bigger bin. No matter how many animals you have. No matter whether there are any other extenuating circumstances. Mr Willis just sends you an off-the-shelf letter. It's no wonder there is so much fly tipping these days. At least we now know why it's called a Refuse Collection - it's because they "refuse" to provide you with the service you need.
dobbro
Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 09:00 PM“We take a light approach as far as enforcement is concerned.” Any chance of a place or two on training day for NCP 'erberts?
isaac-rinKFern
Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 05:57 PMAnother fantastic policy from Dollemore with no understanding of anything whatsoever. So DEFRA have asked councils to aim for the £40 mark for fines, and Dollemore reads this as £100, just another example of Parkin's pets ignoring the outside world and doing what the hell they please. With phrases like "there may be", "there are exceptions", and "special circumstances" this policy seems to be as well written as all the others, with the power for the council to essentially choose who has to adhere to the rules in place. I thought policies were there to lay down rules and not make suggestions. What about shared bins? who gets the fine in blocks of flats where insufficient bins are provided and local recycling points have all been removed by the council to save a few quid?
frankly
Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 05:14 PMAll this bureaucratic enforcement regarding rubbish is as a result of our membership of the EU.(Councils face massive fines for non compliance) Being the ardent eurosceptic that I am,I have to say that for once it makes sense to deal with our rubbish responsibly,its just where that enforcement eminates from that sticks in my throat. However Mrs Frankly,(a sensible Woman) and I generate little rubbish these days,(our 3 little birds having for the most part flown the nest) All of our food waste is composted,our packaging cardboard and bottles is recycled,much else in winter goes into the logburning stove,so what actually goes for landfill is very little.
ChristopherLeGallez
Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 01:03 PMIt is no wonder that people have extra rubbish next to their bins! I used to shred personal documents , put them in cereal boxes and recycle them. With the new system, they cannot be recycled, nor can many typoes of plastic. My shredded paper now goes to landfill, or I make a bonfire of it and pollute the air. I am obliged to do this as I would have to take 4 buses to reach the nearest recycling centre and also it is difficult to carry with whilst using crutches. It's the council and their partners in recycling that need educating.
motormouth
Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 10:31 AMMr Willis said "We take a light approach as far as enforcement is concerned.” So why is an expensive "compliance team" needed ? Posting number 1 is wrong. It's a 5 stage process according to the story which is just plain bureaucratic.
New Player
Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 08:44 AMTell them once to clean up. If that fails, send out the lads to clean up and stick the cost on their rent or council tax. If that fails, evict them or compulsary purchase their houses. There are plenty of genuine people needing homes. In this day and age there is no reason on this earth why decent people should have to live next door to dirty people who cant be bothered with recycling and let rubbish gather in their gardens and streets.
wheely
Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 07:21 AMThis weely-bin system has worked well. We now have barely one bag a week going to landfill. Under the old system it was more like 3. As for tightening the rules, good idea but I think a 4 stage process to change the lazy slobs is too long and administratively costly. A first warning with advise followed by a second is all that should be required. I can show any council official at least a dozen roads in west Worthing where everything gets stuffed in the same bin with rubbish strewn all over the pavements. How much more "education" do some people need ?
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