BRITS could face fines of up to £400 for putting their bins out on the wrong day over the Christmas period.
Rules vary between local authorities, but in general, if you put your bin out on the street on a day it is not going to be collected, councils can take action.
Under Section 46A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, councils have the authority to issue fines if bins are causing an obstruction on the pavement.
The maximum fine for such an offence can reach up to £80.
But some councils issue higher penalties, depending on the amount of rubbish that you leave out, because they class the offence as a form of fly-tipping.
In Kensington and Chelsea in London, for example, the council website states: “It is an offence to put your domestic waste out other than on the scheduled days of collection.
“You could face a Fixed Penalty Notice of £150 or £400, depending on the amount you have left out.
“You also run the risk of facing court action.”
Meanwhile, Stoke-on-Trent council will allow residents to leave a maximum of two additional black bags next to their normal bin on scheduled collection days – which might be useful to get rid of any extra wrapping paper and packaging over Christmas.
But the council says: “If it is left out days in advance of the collection day, it will be treated as illegal dumping and a fixed penalty notice will be issued.”
Birmingham Council threatens residents with a £60 fine if they don’t put their bins out on the correct day, or store their bins on the street, and could also remove your bins.
Over the festive period, bin collection days tend to change to take into account the various bank holidays, when collections generally do not take place.
According to the government website councils will first write to the household and explain:
After that, they will issue a ‘notice of intent’, which tells the resident that they may get a fixed penalty and how much it is.
If this happens to you, you have the right to explain why they shouldn’t have to pay the penalty within 28 days of the date on the notice.
Because Christmas Day is on a Wednesday this year, both the Wednesday and Thursday, the 25th and 26th, are bank holidays, as well as New Year’s Day, 1st January, which is the following Wednesday.
That means lots of bin collections which should have been on Wednesday 25th or Thursday 26th will be on Friday 27th or even Monday 30th.
You can find out when your bins will be collected by visiting your local authority website, or by searching “Christmas bin collection” and the name of your local area using an internet search engine.
Councils also usually post leaflets through people’s letterboxes in the weeks before Christmas to inform them of any change to the service.
If you are going to be on holiday or visiting family over Christmas, it may be worth asking a friend or neighbour to put your bin out on the correct day and bring it back in, so you don’t have to leave it out.
Although the government advises councils that “the use of these penalties should focus on those who cause genuine harm to the local environment”, there have been situations where people have been fined.
Last month, mum-of-one Ariane Sherine was slapped with a £100 fine for putting her rubbish out on Monday rather than Tuesday evening – ahead of collection on Wednesday morning.
The next thing she knew, her local east London council had gone through her rubbish to find her identity, which they did from packaging from an Amazon delivery.
Later correspondence stated that if she failed to pay this off, she could be prosecuted in the magistrates court and charged a whopping £2,500, the author and journalist claimed.
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