A bus driver from Cumbria has acquired a criminal record and a £225 legal bill for failure to close the lid on his bin.

Gareth Corkhill, 26, from Whitehaven was prosecuted after he refused to pay an on-the-spot £110 fine to council officers after leaving his bin lid ajar four inches. He was told that he had six months to pay or would be taken to court. By January he had still not paid and was charged under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.

Whitehaven magistrates convicted him for overfilling his bin with waste and ordered him to pay the fine, £100 court costs and a £15 surcharge.

A spokesman for Local Authority Advisory Committee told MRW, “Most local authorities have a side waste and no overflowing waste policy to encourage residents to recycle more and think about what they are purchasing in the first place. I think a fine is a legitimate way to do that as long as councils have clear education policies in place before they get to the stage of issuing fines.

“Normally local authorities give out plenty of warning and ample opportunities to householders before fines are issued. They issue fines to change behaviour. We do not want to go out and fine people but everyone needs to take action on the waste they produce.”

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EnviroFutures Ltd, Sheffield Technology Park, 60 Shirland Lane, Sheffield
South Yorkshire, S9 3SP; Tel: 0114 2213516 Email: info@envirofutures.com
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