8 January 2013  WASTE bosses are threatening to fine residents £1,000 if they don’t recycle.
They’re equipping a new fleet of 13 collection lorries with a computer system that records how many black sacks are left outside each home in Colchester, Essex.
Householders who put out too much rubbish will be visited by a council warden, who will warn them to start sorting their glass, paper and plastics.
If there’s no improvement within three weeks, they’ll get a fixed penalty notice, for between £60 and £80.
And if they don’t pay, the council could take them to court, where they’ll face a fine of up to £1,000.
Colchester Borough Council’s waste boss Martin Hunt has applied for new powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
The legislation also allows him to order dust carts not to pick up rubbish from serial offenders’ homes.
“People are being put off recycling because they can see other people getting away with not doing it,” said Mr Hunt, borough councillor responsible for waste.
“People are saying ‘why should I bother with recycling when my neighbour is putting 12 black sacks out?’
“They feel they are paying for someone else not doing what they could be doing, but by me having these powers, it could put a stop to that.”
Mr Hunt added the powers would only be used as a last resort, with persistently offending residents being targeted initially with an ‘extensive education campaign’.
“It is, as I have always said it is, a last resort for me, but I must have the power in order to have it as a last resort,” Mr Hunt added.
A new computer system, called Meantime, is being installed in a new fleet of 13 dust carts, which bin men can use to record how many black sacks are being left out by each household on the route.
Householders who are persistently leaving out an unusual amount of black sacks will be visited by a zone warden, who will then monitor the situation for three weeks.
If there is no improvement, the warden will make another visit and continue to monitor collections for another three weeks.
After the second three-week period, if there is no improvement, the resident will be given a fixed penalty notice, for between £60 and £80, which must be paid or challenged.
If the ticket is not paid, the resident’s information will be passed on to the courts and the culprits could be fined £1,000.