MARCH OF THE BIN SNOOPERS
Dustmen’s 7million secret reports on your rubbish ‘crimes’
BINMEN are filing reports on millions of families for rubbish and recycling ‘offences’.
Town hall chiefs have ordered them to rifle through domestic garbage and record where recycling is ‘contaminated’ with food or other waste.
The dustmen are also told to report householders who put out their waste at the wrong time, overload their bins, leave the lids open or fail to use slop caddies. CCTV is used to record infringements and offenders risk £60 fines. Almost seven million ‘ incidents’ were recorded by councils last year compared with only 1.8million the year before.
Officials are using the measures to try to cut collections and increase recycling. But fortnightly or even monthly rounds mean bins can be left to fester. And fly-tipping has reached epidemic proportions with nearly one million incidents last year in England alone.
The Mail submitted freedom of information
requests to 264 councils and discovered that:
Families across three-quarters of the country must wait at least a fortnight for rubbish to be picked up;
Bin lorries for 166 councils have CCTV to record the collections;
One council has put seven surveillance cameras on each vehicle;
Officials are threatening fines of up to £20,000 for leaving bins out too long.
The Tories pledged in opposition that they would restore the ‘fundamental right’ of families to have their bins emptied every week.
But households have come under increasing pressure from councils to cut down the amount of rubbish they throw away. This is due to costcutting and EU targets demanding at least half of all household waste be recycled by 2020.
The Mail has found that binmen made at least 6.8million records about residents said to have erred when putting out their rubbish last year – almost 19,000 a day.
In some cases residents are left notes telling them to recycle properly, with the threat of fines. But many are being reported without their knowledge.
Aylesbury council in Buckinghamshire logs about 43,000 bin issues a month – more than half a million a year. Dustmen note every time a bin is ‘contaminated’ with the wrong waste and if bins are too heavy.
Bradford council keeps records on residents throwing rubbish bags into the back of waste trucks, bins that are contaminated, overflowing, or not placed on the boundary of a property.
Dustmen for Gosport council in Hampshire are required to note when recycling is contaminated with nappies, animal waste, wood, metal, food and black bags.
In Derbyshire, Amber Valley council binmen record almost 300,000 recycling ‘ errors’ a year. They note the address and time of each infraction.
Jenna Moellendorf, a 31year-old mother of three who lives in the area, was told by the Mail that binmen had logged that her recycling bin was contaminated with polystyrene and clothes.
She said: ‘It’s galling they have kept records on me. I don’t expect to be treated like a criminal over what’s in my bin. It’s petty and sinister.’
Andrew Allison of the Freedom Association said: ‘No one wants to be treated in this way. Councils should encourage recycling instead of turning binmen into surveillance operatives.’
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Taxpayers are paying the handsome salaries of the bureaucrats snooping through their bins. Local authorities must ditch this punitive, nannying agenda.’
A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government told the Mail councils should simplify bin collections, adding: ‘We want councils to respond to the wishes of local people, many of whom want to see bin collections as frequently as possible.’
Councils said promoting recycling helped the environment and saved money. They denied that they were snooping on residents or rifling through rubbish.
Amber Valley council said residents should know when there are problems with their bins. A spokesman added: ‘Should binmen notice items that should not be in the recycling they will not empty the bin and will place a hanger on it to advise the resident.
‘As a result of the Daily Mail’s enquiries, will be reminding them of the importance of this task.’
A spokesman for Bradford council said: ‘Our policy prevents rubbish being strewn about the streets making them unsightly and a magnet for vermin. If recycling bins are contaminated with general waste, which includes dirty nappies and pet mess, this presents a safety risk to our recycling staff.’
Aylesbury council and Gosport council said they informed residents when there were incorrect items in their bins.
Despite the decision to leave the EU, the Government still wants local authorities to reach the Brussels targets.
Complaints about bin collections upheld by watchdogs rose sharply this year.