£50 for putting rubbish in bin

gfnewman · 10-03-2006, 10:00 AM

A Leicestershire man was given a fixed penalty notice from his council for putting his junk-mail in a public litter bin. Mr. Tierney was leaving home for work when the postman handed him his mail. It consisted of two pieces of junk-mail which Mr. Tierney screwed up and put in the bin as he strolled to his car.

Two weeks later Mr. Tierney received the penalty notice.

The council who issued the notice – Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council – stand by their notice saying: “Our litter bins are there to keep streets tidy. They are not provided for household waste.”

One wonders whether the mail handed to Mr. Tierney outside his home can be called household waste as it clearly never made it INTO phpbb_the household. So what is the definition of "household waste"?

It also begs the question: do the council have snoops going through the public bins? Are those roughly-clad, dirty and unshaven individuals one sees in town centres council officers in disguise trying to catch people like Mr. Tierney?

This story appears on the front page of The Metro March 10th.

mkpdavies · 10-03-2006, 06:11 PM

I'm surprised they didn't double it for not recycling it.

John Page · 10-03-2006, 07:19 PM

They've cancelled the fine, citing (unconvincingly) a conflict of evidence.

10-03-2006, 10:00 AM	#1 (permalink)
gfnewman Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Bristol Posts: 69	£50 for putting rubbish in bin A Leicestershire man was given a fixed penalty notice from his council for putting his junk-mail in a public litter bin. Mr. Tierney was leaving home for work when the postman handed him his mail. It consisted of two pieces of junk-mail which Mr. Tierney screwed up and put in the bin as he strolled to his car. Two weeks later Mr. Tierney received the penalty notice. The council who issued the notice – Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council – stand by their notice saying: “Our litter bins are there to keep streets tidy. They are not provided for household waste.” One wonders whether the mail handed to Mr. Tierney outside his home can be called household waste as it clearly never made it INTO phpbb_the household. So what is the definition of "household waste"? It also begs the question: do the council have snoops going through the public bins? Are those roughly-clad, dirty and unshaven individuals one sees in town centres council officers in disguise trying to catch people like Mr. Tierney? This story appears on the front page of The Metro March 10th.

10-03-2006, 06:11 PM	#2 (permalink)
mkpdavies Uber Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Woking Posts: 31,055 Party: Libertarian Party	I'm surprised they didn't double it for not recycling it. __________________ http://brits4ronpaul.blogspot.com/ http://wokinglibertarians.blogspot.com/ http://lpuk.org My ignore list Labour, Blue Labour, Lib Dems

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10-03-2006, 07:19 PM	#3 (permalink)
John Page Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Welwyn Hatfield (Herts.) Posts: 1,878	They've cancelled the fine, citing (unconvincingly) a conflict of evidence.