A local council is looking at how to crack down on residents who leave their bins on pavements long after the emptying date.
A committee at Ards and North Down Council has agreed to look at ways and means local authorities can take action against bins blocking footpaths in residential areas all week round.
The DUP councillor who forwarded the motion said the Stormont Department for Infrastructure has passed responsibility to the PSNI, who in turn said they could only act on motor vehicles causing obstruction. Presently no local authority in Northern Ireland has the power to clear the streets of bins.
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The motion, agreed at the Ards and North Down Environment Committee this week, states the council is “concerned” with the number of residential and commercial bins left on public footways in the borough long after the bin collection date.
It states: “Bins left on public footways are not only unsightly, they can lead to hygiene and contamination issues, as well as safety concerns, forcing pedestrians onto the road due to the blocking of a footway.”
It adds: “This council notes its own lack of enforcement powers to tackle this issue and expresses concern at the Department for Infrastructure’s reluctance to use its own enforcement powers.
“Accordingly this council agrees to write to the Department for Infrastructure asking it to tackle the issue. Council officers will in the meantime bring back a report to the appropriate committee detailing action that the council can take under current powers to try to address the issue of bins left on public footways.”
DUP Councillor Alistair Cathcart, who forwarded the motion, told the committee: “Bins have to be left on footways on collection day, that is acceptable and fine - what isn’t acceptable is bins being left on footways long after the collection date. They obstruct the path for pedestrians, especially those with wheelchairs, mobility scooters and prams, and force them onto the road.
“They present danger for those people with impaired vision or mobility issues, they can lead to vandalism, fly tipping and arson, get blown in the wind and cause damage to vehicles belonging to other properties, and make it difficult for the council to clean the street.”
The Bangor Central representative said he was contacted by one resident who lived beside a collection point for around 30 bins, with 20 remaining over a day after the collection date. He said even when the council issues letters to residents to remind them to bring in their bins, after an initial response “old habits come back.”
He added that while councils in England can issue fixed penalty notices after written warnings, councils here “can’t take any further action other than to ask the residents to be considerate.”
Councillor Cathcart said on making a request to Stormont’s Department for Infrastructure about their enforcement regime on the offence of obstruction by bins, the then minister replied it was the responsibility of the PSNI, and the department had no record of fines.
Councillor Cathcart said he made a Freedom of Information request to the PSNI regarding the amount of fines they had given on bin obstruction over the past ten years, and they replied stating they “could not find any records or documents relating to the request.” The PSNI added they could only enforce fines involving obstruction from a motor vehicle and/or trailer.
He said: “So that’s why I am proposing we write to the department to clarify its power and ask them to enforce relevant powers or create powers for local councils as they do in England. I do think this power is best placed with councils as we already deal with fly tipping etcetera.”
The motion received cross party support and will go to the full council later this month for ratification.
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