Fined £100 for putting rubbish by public bin
WINDSOR: A resident has hit out at the council after being issued a fine of £100 for depositing a bag of rubbish which was missed during the collection by Royal Borough contractors Serco.
Carole Bowman of Spinners Walk was preparing to go and stay with her 84-yearold mother to help out for a few days.
Knowing she lives in an area with a rat problem, and at a residence which is without a wheelie bin, Carole told the Express she did not wish to leave her rubbish on the street while she was away.
Residents without bins are expected to put their waste into branded council bags on the street side – but despite having ordered these on October 24, Carole was still waiting for them more than three weeks later.
Instead, she put the rubbish in a black bag and deposited it by a nearby public bin.
District Enforcement, which polices environmental misdemeanours in the Royal Borough, saw this as a flytipping offence and issued her a fine.
The letter told her that if she did not pay she could face legal action, ending in a
maximum penalty of £2,500 plus court costs.
Carole said she found the letter warning her of her fine ‘intimidating, bullying and extreme’.
She said: “They say you can go to court but it will cost you thousands of pounds, and it scares people. I explained the situation, but there there’s just no discussion.”
Carole has struggled to evidence her prior complaints with Serco, as she has not been able to keep a digital record of every missed collection.
In the end she chose to pay the fine rather than keep fighting.
She added: “I’m so fed up with the area I’m actually moving.”
A council spokesperson said: “The council is committed to reducing waste placed out incorrectly, to ensure that the boroughs streets are kept clean and pest free and to improve the street scene, especially in the town centre areas. Enforcement is a part of that and that’s why a Fixed Penalty Notice was issued in this case.”