Leftover wrapping paper? Beware the £2m bin snoopers

CASH-STRAPPED councils are employing a £2million army of bin snoopers to spy on the recycling habits of families.

A record number of staff are being hired by local authorities to police householders’ wheelie bins.

Full-time community waste advisers, now operating in half of council areas visit homes found to be ‘contaminating’ their recycling and have the power to suspend bin collections – and even ban them for good.

It means householders who fail to correctly dispose of their Christmas wrapping paper – most of which is non-recyclable – risk punishment.

Borders Council apparently acknowledges that some residents will resent the intrusion. A job advert states that waste advisers require ‘good mediation, negotiation and enforcement skills’.

Local authority chiefs claim the dedicated role – with an average annual salary of £20,000 – is crucial to allow them to meet strict recycling targets.

However, critics say the ‘bin snoopers’ are yet another example of ‘needless council spending’.

Half of councils confirmed they employ staff to ‘educate and advise’ members of the public on the correct use of recycling bins.

Aberdeenshire Council employs six Community Waste Officers (CWOs), who visit households found to be contaminating their recycling. Bins that do not meet the standard will be ‘tagged’ and left unemptied on the roadside and offending addresses flagged for a follow-up visit by a CWO.

The council is developing a campaign to ‘engage better’ with householders and CWOs will also visit schools to talk about the importance of correctly separating waste and recycling.

Scottish Borders Council – which fitted microchips in some household bins – also employs recycling advisers who have the power to ‘remove the collection service’.

The council – which has cut its workforce by more than a quarter over five years – recently advertised for a full-time Waste and Recycling Advisor, with an annual salary of £17,732-£19,612.

As part of its recycling service standards that came into force on December 5, West Lothian Council confirmed it now operates a threeOfficers strike system where contaminated bins will be ‘tagged’ and householders twice given the chance to remove the offending items before they will be visited by Engagement – but the recycling service could then be withdrawn.

Perth and Kinross, West Dunbartonshire, East Ayrshire, Falkirk, South Lanarkshire, Fife, East Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, Midlothian and Glasgow also employ dedicated waste advisers.

Yesterday John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: ‘Hard-pressed families will resent paying extra for an army of bin snoopers telling people what to do.

‘Councils have been shamelessly cutting back on waste collections, the most fundamental of services offered for a hefty council tax bill.

‘So instead of trying to find ways to charge and penalise, local politicians should be focusing on delivering quality services and eradicating needless spending.’

Addressing the potential issues facing the Christmas recycling run, a Zero Waste Scotland spokesman said: ‘Wrapping paper often contains glitter, foil and plastic and should not go in your recycling bin.’

He added: ‘If you can scrunch it, you can recycle it. Wrapping paper that can be recycled will stay scrunched up in a ball, while non-recyclable paper will go back to its normal shape. And don’t forget to remove sticky tape before you put it in the recycling.’

‘Shamelessly cutting back on collections’