The Environment Department of the United Kingdom recently announced that homeowners will be fined amounting to £80 for taking out their rubbish on the wrong schedule day, did not recycle, or tried to overfill their bins.The news that bin penalties will be reduce rather than eliminate comes after the local council elections where the fines were an important factor. The Environment Secretary said that the threat of a £110 fine for a simple fault such as putting bins out at an earlier time like an hour early does not fit the crime. The reduction in fine is considered as the first move geared towards being reasonable as people must be supported to put their rubbish out in the proper way and large fines are not the best way to do it.
The £110 fine for people who are guilty of these complex waste guidelines will be lowered but not entirely removed. Instead, the Environment Department is simply looking for a long term law change to end illegal action being taken towards good citizens. The fines are still required to penalize those jeopardizing the recycling initiatives of everybody else.
The fixed- penalty sanctions for bin penalties also remain as the fines are towards households who make severe infringements.
The amendment applies to all homeowners who gather their waste for collection improperly. While the local authorities recognize that penalties are used only as a last resort, the local government wants to see that its powers are more fair and better targeted thereby balancing the need to honor civil liberties with its efforts to efficiently deal with behaviors that harm the local amenity.
Under the present system, the local council can subject permanent penalty notices of up to £110 or launch criminal procedures which can lead to fines of up to £1,000.
New Plastic Waste Rules
