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April 22, 2008
"The Battle to Reduce Waste" Claims Another Casualty
Posted by Dave Blount at April 22, 2008 6:48 AM
The latest from trash-obsessed Airstrip One:
With his rubbish collected only once a fortnight, Gareth Corkhill's wheelie bin was so full the lid wouldn't shut. And for that, the father of four finds himself with a criminal record. Magistrates convicted the 26-year-old bus driver after hearing evidence that the lid was four inches ajar, which is against rules to stop bins overflowing.
He was ordered to pay £210 — a week's wages — after he declined to pay an on-the-spot fine imposed by the local council's bin police, who visited him wearing stab-proof vests and carrying photographic evidence of his crime.
To add insult to injury he was told to pay a £15 victim surcharge to help victims of violence — despite there being no victim — and threatened with prison if he failed to pay. Rapists, murderers and other violent criminals who have earned a jail sentence rather than a fine are immune from the penalty.
Yesterday the council, Copeland in Cumbria, said that Mr Corkhill's family had caused problems for "the battle to reduce waste".
Britons will also be fined if they put their bins out earlier than 7 a.m. — never mind that some people leave for work before then.
What are they supposed to do with their garbage if they can't throw it away? Why, recycle it, of course!
On a tip from essemess.
