LITTER

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David Bamber was arrested and held for eight hours after making a 12-year-old litter lout pick up the rubbish he had just dropped. Mr Bamber thought he was doing his civic duty when he approached the schoolboy who had littered a street in Portsmouth with paper but when he called the police he was arrested, on suspicion of common assault, instead of the boy for dropping the litter.

Mr Bamber said, "This wasn't just a case of dropping a sweet wrapper. This kid came out of a shop with a load of pamphlets, ripped them up and threw them in the street when a bin was just six feet away. I told him to pick them up and he came back with 'no you pick it up' and all that sort of stuff. So I grabbed him by his coat and said I'm not letting you go until you pick it up. He then gave me a second lot of verbal abuse, but eventually his friends told him to pick it up and he did and I let him go."

The boy's mother then turned up and threatened to phone the police but Mr Bamber did it himself, and was arrested. He was then kept for eight hours, interviewed and made to give a DNA swab. Six weeks later he was told there was no case to answer and he is now fighting to have his DNA removed from the police database. No formal action was taken against the boy as police decided it was better just to let him off. (Source: Daily Mail, Oct/07)

A 14-year-old schoolboy was fined £50 for feeding half a chip to a seagull. Jack Double got the on-the-spot penalty after litter wardens saw him. He said, “One tasted hard and I saw the other half was green so I threw it to a seagull. I couldn’t believe it when two litter enforcement officers came up and handed me a notice saying I had to pay £50.” Just weeks earlier Jack, of Ipswich, Suffolk, had been given a certificate by a litter officer commending him for putting rubbish in a bin.

He refused to tell the wardens his name so they followed him back to Chantry High School, where staff identified him. He was fined under the 1990 Environmental Protection Act. The notice warned Jack that refusal to pay could mean a £2,500 court fine. A council spokesman, “We are determined to keep Ipswich clear of food mess which can attract vermin.” (Source: The Sun, Jan/07)

Derby City Council is planning to introduce on-the-spot fines of between £75 and £300 to stop people from dumping their rubbish in the street. Environmental health officers, police community safety officers and members of the council's Neat Team would all be able to hand out the fines as part of the council's environmental crime enforcement strategy.

Initially, a team of about 30 people would have the powers but the council estimates that it would have 100 members of staff equipped to issue the notices within 18 months. Councillor Pauline Latham, the cabinet member for enforcement said, "We need to send out a clear message that we're not prepared to stand for it and that's why we're setting out this strategy."

Among the fines being planned are £75 penalties for littering, fly-tipping, fly-posting, and scrawling graffiti, but the highest penalty would be £300 for people advertising that they can dispose of waste without the correct licence. There would also be £100 penalties for parking irresponsibly, such as on pavements or in front of access gates to private property. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Oct/06)

Dr Kola Akindele faces arrest and court action for placing his rubbish out in the wrong bag. The chiropractor, works from home in Wisbech, Cambs, and puts rubbish from his practice into clear “business” bags and household waste in black sacks. He even pays double council tax for twin collections and claims three officials from Fenland District Council trawled through his rubbish and told him the mailshot was trade waste, even though it was addressed to him. Officials wrote twice asking him to attend a Police and Criminal Evidence Act interview concerning two charges “under caution”. The council says putting trade waste in a domestic sack is a “criminal offence” and the doctor put “invoices, appointment lists and packaging” in his. (Source: The Sun, Mar/06)

Andrew Tierney was fined £50 for throwing two pieces of junk mail into a litter bin. He dropped the letters into a street bin after the postman handed them to him as he left home on the way to work but Hinckley and Bosworth borough council sent him a fine two weeks later, claiming he had committed an offence by dumping "domestic refuse" in the bin on a lamppost outside his house.

Council officials traced him from the addresses on the envelopes and issued the penalty. A spokesman said, "Anyone who feels they have been issued with a penalty unfairly can appeal, and we will consider each case based on the evidence before us. Our litter bins are there to keep streets tidy, as they enable the public to deposit small amounts of litter. They are not provided for household waste."

Hinckley and Bosworth Council defended their action and denied they were being petty. A spokesman said, “A fixed penalty notice is served to people who we believe have committed an offence. Our litter bins are there to keep streets tidy, as they enable the public to deposit small amounts of litter. They are not provided for household waste.” Chief executive Steve Atkinson later promised the authority would look into whether it had been too officious.

Mr Atkinson said, “There is evidence that there was some junk mail in a bag in a litter bin. If the evidence does not stack up and we are potentially guilty of over-reaction then we need to deal with it in the right way. If we have over-reacted we will hold our hands up and acknowledge it.” After a day of national media interest the council withdrew its threat of prosecution. Mr Atkinson said, "Maybe the public are not as aware of rules on rubbish as they should be." Maybe if the council didn't have such stupid rules in the first place.... (Source: Daily Mirror, Mar/06)

There's an interesting legal issue here. For one, unless he was actually seen putting the rubbish in the bin, they cannot assume it was him simply from the fact that his address was on the mail (many councils seem to think spotting your address on rubbish means it was you that dumped it..this is clearly untrue and not proveable without a witness). Secondly, if he was outside his property when the postman gave him the mail, it is not domestic refuse as it never reached the house (if I buy crips and eat them in the street, I can put the wrapper in the street bin!). Thirdly, unsolicited junk mail is NOT his property. Gary

If people want to communicate with Hinckley council they don't need to buy a stamp. Just put your letter in the nearest rubbish bin and it will be delivered to the jobsworths in the town hall! Andy

Save up your junk mail, stick it into an envelope and post it back to the sender, without a postage stamp. As your address is on the unopened mail, they know where it has come from. These mailing companies will then have to pay the Post Office to get their own rubbish back because of no postage stamp. After this happens a couple of times, surprise surprise, your name will start disappearing from mailing lists. Steve