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£50 fine for putting rubbish in litter bin
Nick Britten
Daily Telegraph 10 March 2006

A MAN has been issued with a £50 fine for "misusing'' a litter bin
by putting rubbish in it.

Andrew Tierney put two pieces of junk mail in a street bin and was
stunned when a letter arrived two weeks later from his local council
saying that he had committed an offence by putting "domestic refuse'' in
a public bin.

Mr Tierney, 24, was leaving his house for work when he bumped into
the postman on his doorstep. He looked at his post as he went to
his car, and put the two pieces of junk mail in a bin attached to
a lamppost outside his terraced home in Hinckley, Leics.

Yesterday he said he would take the matter to court rather than
pay up.

He said: "I've been fined for doing the right thing. I could have
easily chucked those letters on the ground, but I put them in the bin.

"What has happened is a joke. The council is barmy. I never
thought you could get a fine for putting rubbish in a bin -
that's what they are there for.''

The fixed-penalty notice advised Mr Tierney, a warehouse worker:
"Domestic refuse from your property was dumped into a street litter bin.''

Mr Tierney said: "To me 'domestic refuse' is household stuff like
potato peelings and tin cans.''

A Hinckley and Bosworth borough council spokesman said junk mail
constituted "household waste'', which "has a separate
collection''.

"Our litter bins are there to keep streets tidy, as they enable
the public to deposit small amounts of litter. They are not
provided for household waste.''

Julie Price, the local councillor for the area, said she would ask
the authority to put warning signs on bins if handing out such
"severe'' penalties became the norm.

"It seems very severe. I would prefer it if there was a warning
first before issuing the fine. But the council thinks this
particular bin is one of the hotspots in town where there has
been a lot of household refuse dumped.''

It is not known whether a witness reported Mr Tierney or if
council workers search bins for domestic refuse.

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