‘Heavy-handed' bin fines for residents to be scrapped

London: Householders will no longer face punishment for innocent mistakes — such as overfilling their bins or putting them out on the wrong day.

Under plans to be announced by ministers this week, the huge court fines — of up to £1,000 (Dh5,620) — which can be imposed on residents will be abolished.

Maximum penalties handed down as spot fines — which can be higher than those given by police for shoplifting and other genuine criminal acts — will also be slashed.

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said: "Heavy-handed bin fines have for too long been used to punish people for innocent mistakes. We are now consigning them to the scrap heap of history. We want to see people helping us to boost recycling rates by putting out their rubbish correctly, but bullying them with fines is not the way to do it. Only those causing real problems for their community will get punished."’

The new rules would drastically narrow the reasons why fines can be imposed, so they cannot be handed out in low-level cases.

Homeowners can even be fined just for putting the wrong kind of rubbish in the bin or putting their bins in the wrong place. Instead, councils would have to prove residents are causing a "harm to local amenity"’by deliberately leaving waste out on the street.

Stealth tax

The changes were first promised last summer in the Government's long-awaited waste review. While in opposition, the Tories accused Labour of using waste fines as a stealth tax. They also pledged a return to weekly bin rounds. In autumn Communities Secretary Eric Pickles pledged to make £250 million available for councils who retain or return to weekly collections.

The changes to bin fines will take months to become law, so ministers will take interim steps to reduce spot penalties. Fixed penalties notices — which range from £75 to £110 — will be cut to £60 to £80, with a discounted rate of £40 for early payment.

Civil liberties groups welcomed the move. They have condemned the use of powers by councils to spy on residents, nicknamed the "Binquisition."

Nick Pickles, director of Big Brother Watch, said: "Not only will councils now not be able to fill their coffers at the expense of residents' privacy and common sense, but it is a blow against the surveillance culture."

David Parsons, chairman of the environment board at the Local Government Association, said: "Only a tiny minority of households persistently leave their waste piled up in the street or wilfully contaminate their recycling."