Derby City Council to clamp down on dangerous wheelie bin misuse

Tougher punishments for people dumping things they shouldn't are being investigated

Derby City Council says it plans to clamp down on people who misuse their wheelie bins.

The authority says incorrect items dumped in bins across the city put its staff and staff and vehicles in danger.

The authority said dealing with the problem cost £450,000 a year.

Councillors were told at a recent meeting that the council was considering implementing tougher measures for irresponsible households.

It is not yet clear what punishments or fines could be issued in the future but the Labour-led council says it is keen to look at ways in which enforcement action can be legally carried out, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Food waste and leftover takeaways are a particular problem as they spread in the collection vehicles, contaminating large amounts of otherwise clean and dry recycling.

The council also says batteries and items containing them pose a real danger.

Future changes

The council says it has been taking an "educational approach" to households that put the wrong items in their blue and black bins.

But this approach does not seem to stop the problem - despite a council awareness campaign being run last year.

At a communities, public protection and housing scrutiny meeting, Mackworth Conservative councillor Gaurav Pandey said: "I know if someone has contaminated their bin, you will talk to them and refuse their collection - but that will mean it will start overflowing and then it will keep on overflowing. What happens then?"

Simon Aitken, head of neighbourhood services, at Derby City Council, said: "Currently we can only educate and advise but we are looking in the future to see if we can do more."

Carly Walker, technical manager for waste at Derby City Council, added: "There is going to be a consultation regarding potentially being able to implement a PCSO which part of their role could cover responsible waste management and using the bins correctly.

"The waste team can only authorise education but there are other teams within the council that will be able to enforce regarding waste issues."