Residents in London have been repaid £40,000 after being handed fines for leaving their rubbish out on the wrong day or missing their collection slot. Haringey Council penalised the householders on the basis of fly-tipping, but it has been ordered by the Local Government Ombudsman to issue refunds and cancel any outstanding fines.
As reported by MyLondon, the controversial punishments were dished out to people who lived above shops and businesses and were without wheelie bins. Instead, they were instructed to leave their waste outside at allotted hours during twice-daily collections. Missing those slots risked incurring a £400 fly-tipping fine.
Anybody penalised was given 14 days to pay or — with no formal grounds of appeal available — attend a court hearing that might cost them up to £2,500. Isabelle Langlois, who lives in Crouch End, received a fine last year for leaving her rubbish out just 35 minutes before her allotted time, prompting her to complain to the ombudsman.
As part of the Environmental Protection Act, government guidance says councils cannot issue fixed penalty notices for problems deemed as minor, including leaving waste out early. The guidance also states that a warning should be issued in writing before fines are imposed for more serious infringements.
After receiving the complaint from Ms Langlois, the ombudsman noted that the fine was not against the law but found it "not proportionate or in the spirit of the government guidance to treat rubbish left out 35 minutes early as fly-tipping, which is a criminal offence". The council was subsequently instructed to apologise to Ms Langlois and pay her £100 in recognition of the distress and uncertainty she had experienced.
The complaint also led to the ombudsman instructing the council to ditch its fines system and refund any wrongly-issued fly-tipping fixed penalty notices from the past 12 months. Haringey's Liberal Democrat opposition group have revealed that has led to the council returning a total sum of £42,920.
Lib Dem leader of the opposition Luke Cawley-Harrison accused the council of "treating residents as a resource" and "forgetting that these are the people it exists to serve". He added: "There is no common sense being applied here when residents and businesses act in good faith to help keep our streets clean.
"Meanwhile, we routinely see waste left out for hours, and sometimes days, when (waste management company) Veolia fails to carry out a collection, seemingly with impunity. It is good to see that this wrong-headed policy is being changed, and those fined under it having their money returned, but this should never have been necessary. It is clear that Haringey Council needs to change."
Council leader Peray Ahmet said: "Following the ombudsman’s decision, we immediately amended our policy and have stopped issuing £400 fines, and those that had already been issued have now all been cancelled and refunded. We have now implemented the ombudsman’s guidance and are issuing warnings before any enforcement action is taken for waste that is put out before the timed collection period."
Cllr Ahmet explained the enforcement policy had been put in place "as an important step in keeping our streets clean and free of rubbish to prevent issues for the wider community, such as vermin infestations and limited accessibility for pedestrians and those with disabilities". The council has also now introduced on-street waste containers as a more effective method of collecting waste from those who live in flats above shops.
A Veolia spokesperson said: "We strive to ensure that all collections are carried out on time and work closely with our partners at Haringey Council to minimise the amount of waste that is left on high roads, such as the expansion of the new on-street waste containment box scheme."
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