HOW TOWN HALLS TRY TO CATCH YOU OUT

1 Amber Valley Borough Council, Derbyshire: Binmen record if underwear, black bags, towels, plant pots, handbags and nappies are in the recycling. 2 Ashford Borough Council, Kent: Lists of more than 100,000 incidents per year are compiled, including bins being too heavy. 3 Aylesbury Vale District Council, Buckinghamshire: Lorries have four CCTV cameras and staff make half a million notes per year, including if rubbish is stuck inside the bin. 4 Birmingham City Council: Evidence is compiled on when families’ bins are too heavy and lids are left open. 5 Bradford Council: Staff take pictures and record incidents including: ‘Overflowing Bins’, ‘Bins Not Placed on Boundary’ and ‘Contaminated Bins’. 6 Enfield Council: Families get £60 fines for failing to recycle properly after warnings. 7 Gateshead Council, Tyne and Wear: Binmen make 260,000 reports per year and record when families ‘contaminate’ recycling. 8 Gosport Borough Council, Hampshire: Staff note every time they find incorrect itemsin bins, including nappies, garden waste and food. 9 Peterborough City Council: Lorries have a ‘360 degree camera surveillance system’. Residents who have been reported include a woman who put a woolly jumper into a green bin. 10 Preston City Council: Lorries have four CCTV cameras and bin men report problems including: ‘Nappies in yellow lidded recycling bin’ and ‘contains cat litter’. 11 Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, West Midlands: More than 30,000 reports are made every year and photographs are taken by crew with iPads. 12 Selby District Council, North Yorkshire: Dustmen report residents for contaminating recycling and letting overgrown hedges get in their way.

13 Stockport Council: When bins lids are left open at more than a 45 degree angle, the bin is not emptied and residents have to wait another fortnight for the next general waste collection. 14 Stoke-on-Trent City Council: Lorries have been fitted with ‘spy-in-the-cab’ computer systems so dustmen can report families who leave their rubbish out at the wrong time. 15 Telford & Wrekin Council, Shropshire: Staff record when bins are overflowing and recycling lorries have a five camera surveillance system. 16 Test Valley Borough Council, Hampshire: Families are reported for failing to put out bins on the right day and overfilling bags. 17 West Berkshire Council: Last year, more than 80,000 reports were made, including families having ‘excess rubbish’ and ‘recycling contamination’. 18 Wigan Council: Binmen log when they find ‘side waste’, ‘bin too heavy’, and ‘excessive dog waste’.