A charity leader has blasted the action of his local council for issuing them with an ‘insensitive’ £300 after it failed to bag up its rubbish correctly.
Staff at Brighton and Hove Wood Recycling Project used a communal bin to dump waste outside its workshop in Brighton.
Pete West, the charity’s CEO, said that two volunteers – one of whom has learning difficulties and the being new to the workshop at the time – were asked to move waste contained in ordinary sacks to a different area.
However, in what was an ‘unfortunate mistake’, the pair accidentally deposited the waste bags in street bins as Brighton and Hove City council officers were stood outside the workshop.
Having seen the waste being deposited, they issued the charity with a fixed penalty notice which was upheld following an appeal.
Staff at Brighton and Hove Wood Recycling Project used a communal bin (pictured) to incorrectly bag waste outside the workshop on June 17 in Edward Street, Brighton
They used the large communal bins instead of the ones they were supposed to use that are located just outside the workshop (pictured)
Mr West, who has been a Green Party councillor in the city since 1996, criticised the fine, saying it will ‘reduce the support we can give to disadvantaged people’.
He told The Argus: ‘I’m very conscious of the need for the council to properly manage use of the communal bins and appreciate that technically we have committed an offence, but this was an honest mistake made by a volunteer with learning disabilities who misunderstood what to do.
‘We run on a shoestring and are crowdfunding to save the organisation and really can’t afford this insensitive fine, which will only serve to reduce the support we can give to disadvantaged people.’
Councillor Tim Rowkins, cabinet member for net zero and environmental services, said: ‘Businesses must dispose of their commercial waste legally and it is the responsibility of the business to make sure all staff have received suitable training and guidance on how to do so.
‘Disposing of commercial waste by illegally using bins meant for residential waste limits the space available for residents to responsibly dispose of their household rubbish, which can lead to further issues.
‘When a fixed penalty notice is issued, businesses are able to appeal and provide additional information to us, which is then reviewed under the council’s Fixed Penalty Notice Challenge process. In this instance, the decision was to uphold the fine.’
The fixed penalty notice issued by Brighton and Hove City Council came just weeks after another council slapped a couple with a hefty £400 littering fine after one of them put an envelope in a public bin, before they were tracked down by the address on the front.
Stoke City Council hit Deborah and Ian Day with individual £200 fines after fishing out the envelope which contained their address.
Deborah and Ian Day (pictured) received individual £200 fines after putting an envelope in a public bin in Stoke-on-Trent
The couple each received a fine from Stoke City Council after jobsworths fished out the envelope and traced their address
Deborah Day, 47, who lives on Dividy Road, in Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent, was on her way to work when she put the envelope in the public bin on her street.
But council investigators say this breaches sections 87 and 88 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and constitutes it as an offence of littering because household waste cannot be put in a public bin.
The hairdresser said: ‘I have received a letter from the council with a fine of £200 and my husband (Ian) has received one too because apparently we’re both to blame.
‘It is for an empty envelope inside a bin and the council has even attached a photo of the envelope which had my address on it in their letter’.
