Bin collections and a rank abuse of power

WITH most of Britain’s households now having to suffer their rubbish being collected just once a fortnight – or even once a month – it’s inevitable that bins are sometimes going to become overloaded.

The decline of the weekly collection has also led to a fly-tipping epidemic, with footpaths, open land and roadside verges festooned with the detritus of modern life.

In a sane world, the response of councils would be a return to collecting the garbage every week. But instead of taking responsibility, they are persecuting the householders who pay their wages.

On Saturday, the Mail revealed that binmen are being instructed to rifle through domestic rubbish and report those who put their garbage in the wrong bin. Chillingly, CCTV is being used to record infringements and culprits risk a £60 fine.

Today we report the sinister fact that some councils now use anti-social behaviour laws to extort even more from ordinary families. For overfilling their bins, or leaving them out at the wrong times, they risk fines of up to £2,500 and a criminal record. For small businesses the maximum is £20,000.

This is the most outrageous abuse of power – and must be stamped on urgently, by central government if necessary.

The solution to overflowing bins is not these Stasi tactics. It’s really quite simple – collect them more often.