The Zohan

Man wheelie stunned by bin fine - Yahoo! News UK

" was in shock when I found about the fine. I couldn't believe they would do that.

"I have my rubbish collected every fortnight. There are five people in my family, three children, me and my wife. Plus I have my daughter over the weekends.

"We recycle everything we can, including plastics, cardboard, tins, glass and paper. We have got a black box that is always full.

"It's only an £80 fine for flytipping. I would have been better off doing that."

In a statement the council said: "Copeland Borough Council will continue to crack down on the problem of overflowing bins, which cause problems for local residents and in the battle to reduce waste.


This just seems so petty and small minded - this hardly looks like the Mr Big of the rubbish world just a family man trying to get by - Shame on the council!

boxst

Sometimes my bin is filled to the top and 'overflowing' (i.e. there is a black bag and the lid doesn't fully shut).

They take it without any problem. Does it actually say somewhere that this is an offence?

Steve

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

Taxed nation !

Every chance they get

Leslie

It is hard to believe that they have the brass neck to fine him at all let alone such an enormous sum for such a minor thing. I wonder if his bin was actually overflowing onto the ground or whether the lid was just stuck open by that 4 inches.

The reply from the council spokesman was typical as well when he mentioned to importance of re-cycling as if the man was not doing that in the first place. Just like our leaders, the trick is to say the opposite of what is actually happening if the truth does not suit the speaker.

Les

The Zohan

Yup, i heard an interview, they made it look and sound like he was the bad guy and how it affects the community and local environment and he is not doing his bit. Disgusting spin!

The irony of fly tipping carrying a lesser fine is just more beaurocratic madness and show how short sighted and stupid some council employees are!

Councils are there to serve us not the other way around.

I have to say our local NBC are good about this sort of thing and take an adult and responsible approach.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Hold on a mo. I thought ONLY courts could issue a fine?

If so, was it issued by a magistrate's court? Because if so, it's odds-on we haven't heard the whole story

Alcazar

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

Its to stop people trying to fight against fines!!

Just talking about this is work and one of the lads pointed out if he had dragged his bin out into the middle of the road and tipped it out, even if caught he would have been fined less than half and would not have had to clean it up !!

r32

Where have you been, NL have allowed a whole new bunch of people to raise fines, enter your home etc etc ..........

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

What happens if you put it out before and someone else puts a bag of rubbish in yours.

I use a garden chair to climb into ours and compress it down, you get another few days, also, compress stuff before it goes in, a big milk carton can go down to a tenth of its inflated size.

stilover

Easier to go after Joe Public than it is to tactle real crime on our streets.

TonyG

Stories like this always make me wonder how we used to cope. Years ago when I were a lad, the round metal dustbin was about half the size of a wheelie bin, and while it was collected weekly, all the rubbish went into it. I can't remember ours ever being full to overflowing and that was with a family of 4 (my parents and 2 kids). So the big question is why are we producing so much more rubbish now?

The Zohan

Don't, you'll have Felix getting all defensive and bleating on...

Nimbus

probably down to the large amount of useless packaging everything seems to come in now days...

boxst

One of the reasons is that more things are 'processed' and wrapped. If I buy tomatoes for example, they come with a cardboard base and wrapped in plastic. My Mother used to buy how ever many and they were put in a small paper bag (I know you can still do this, just most people don't).

steve

swampster

iTrader: (1)

Nope... councils can issue fines for pretty much whatever they create a by-law for.

The recent litter out the car window debate is a typical example... here's a prime example why letting councils have free reign like this is a BAD idea. They're pretty much unaccountable.

Yes you can opt to not pay the 'on-the-spot' fine.. and that involves a trip to the Magistrates, who will almost without fail fall on the side of the council, despite it being a case of your word against that of some geriatric half blind cantankerous council worker with a previous lifetime history that'd make the Ronnie Biggs looks like a saint.

You get fined by the council!

So you have to risk breaking you legs to prevent getting fined...

Cucumbers in plastic wrappings, a frozen pizza that comes in a cardboard box, on a polystyrene tray, with a cardboard disc cellophaned to the bottom of it... kind of gives you a good idea why. Instead of hitting us, food companies & supermarkets should be getting targeted to produce less packaging, where anyone making unnecessary packaging gets fined.

Also, 'in days of old' the bin might not have been overflowing because you were allowed to put extra bags out as well, I used to see this frequently.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

i tried this once when our green bin was full. couple steps on the top to compress so the lid didnt stay open slightly.

came to collection day and they still didnt empty it ffs

i asked why the next time they were round and they said that it was compressed and they werent obliged to empty compressed bins as it wastes time and space in the lorry i just pointed inside to the mrs and then the scoob, and simply replied "im gonna go **** one and then drive the other". slammed the door thought bollocks to them.

if we get desperate now for what ever reason we just go to the local tip.

swampster

iTrader: (1)

Yeah this is what loads are being forced to do, I got to my local tip and you have to queue 15 minutes to get in now.

So all this is basically bollox, the same amount of stuff is going to land fill, just now we're all getting in our cars and making extra journey to get it there. Just think of all that extra CO2

I genuinely think these idiots that come up with this crap couldn't tell their a*se from their elbow!

Lisawrx

iTrader: (1)

Again,this is yet another way of targetting ordinary people. Not some criminal, but a family, merely throwing rubbish away. When I heard about this
earlier today, it was said he has one of those small black tubs to recycling, and does use it. Now if their rubbish collection is the same as mine, you can't fit that much in those tubs, which also are only collected fortnightly. So other than keeping rubbish in his home or garden, what the hell is he supposed to do other than put it in the normal bin. From what is reported, the level of rubbish does not sound ridiculous for a family, after two weeks. I think fining him is harsh to say the least.

TBH, if waste is such a problem, maybe more should be done at the source of the problem, rather than fining someone for throwing too much away. Start tackling the fact too much packaging is being used in the first place. Perhaps, if people are not recycling enough, provide something a little more substantial than what equates to a plastic storage box, or collect the recycleables (sp) weekly.

mal_howarth

Christmas comes and the binmen still look for a "tip" excuse the pun and wonder why none are forthcoming

swampster

iTrader: (1)

Next they'll be complaining that flytipping is on the up.....

oh...

SJ_Skyline

Poor sod got a criminal record for it

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Cumbria | Father fined for overfilling bin

pwhittle

I disagree with this sort of fining, but he will have received at least one warning, which he chose to ignore.

The 3 of us easily manage not to fill a wheely bin in 2 weeks, though I agree having to drive tot he tip to get rid of recyclabes not collected isn't exactly green.

Councils are accountable - not just by voting for members, but people who feel so strongly should go to public meetings where policies are dicussed, rather than just complaining.

It's worth remembering that councils get fined hugely (and I mean hugely) for landfill, so if they can't reduce it, your council tax bill goes up to pay the fines. Who receives the fine money is anyone's guess...

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

You are right, he did receive a warning. The council were keen to point this out. Its also true that the "warning" was issued to every single household. Next thing he knew was that a few months later he was fined.

As for compressing rubbish in your bin, they either leave it or fine you for that too.

zip106

Years ago when we first got our (1 of 3) wheelie bins I rang the council and asked if it was ok to put a big black bin bag in it to line it and keep it clean.
The reply was that they'd rather we didn't do that but used plastic carrier bags instead

boxst

How can they fine you for compressing rubbish? At this moment in time (and it may come of course) they do not weigh the rubbish or work out the cubic volume so what does 'compressed' mean in legal terms.

Steve

David Lock

Apparently cucumbers are wrapped in plastic because they last longer and so less overall waste. Aren't I clever

But I don't understand all this **** about plastic bags. Just give a months' notice and ban the bloody things. It will only take a couple of trips to Tescos without an alternative bag for people to learn. dl

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

Compressed rubbish causes the bin not to empty when inverted. So if when they tip your bin stuff does not come out then I believe there is a fining system available to them. Either that or they refuse to tip meaning you have to empty yourself.

To be honest I think they are just trying to cause so much hassle that you will employ the services of a private bin emptying firm. Of course you won't see a reduction in council tax, and in coming years they will just impose higher rubbish taxes on the private firm for more income.

boxst

Ah okay. I'll just have to make sure there are a few bricks at the bottom of the bin and problem solved

Steve

robby

In the good old days we had a coal fire which meant we burnt everything we could (packaging, etc)
The dustbin used to take the ashes (except for when there was snow outside when we'd use it on the paths) which meant less contents but more weight.
In those days the dustment (pre refuse collectors) would have to lift the bins and carry them to their carts to empty as well - not push it to the back and press a button to get it emptied.

Bloody EU regs are/ have spoilt britain (not worth a capital B)