Outraged resident tells LBC council snooped in his rubbish then fined him £150
25 January 2021, 08:42
Outraged resident tells LBC of encounter with council litter police
An "outraged" resident tells LBC he was handed a litter fine by his local council for some recycling that was just over his property line.
Wandsworth resident Neil Allison told LBC's Nick Ferrari he was handed a £150 fine by the local council after litter police snooped through his recycling.
He told LBC last week one of the council's private contractors "rifled through a single piece of recycling which was just over our property line."
As a result of this "outrageous" action, Mr Allison was slapped with a £150 fine.
He explained to LBC even though it was his rubbish it was just over his property line.
Telling Nick the council contractor had opened up the recycling bag to find "evidence" it was from his house the outraged guests said it could easily have contained "private materials".
Branding it an invasion of privacy he told LBC he could get a reduction in the fine if he pays early.
But the Wandsworth resident said when he contacted the council the only way he could object to the fine was by attending court which could come with a criminal record and a fine of up to £2,500.
Reacting to the suggestion he could have been flytipping Mr Allison said the way the law was being enforced seemed to be just trying to make money for private contractors and not solving the problem.
A council spokesman told LBC: “This was a significant pile of rubbish that had been dumped on a busy public footpath the day before collections were due in that street.
"We make no apology for taking action against flytippers who dump their rubbish on pavements and street corners creating eyesores, blocking pavements and encouraging pests and vermin. Our residents expect us to tackle this form of environmental vandalism and keep our streets clean and that’s precisely what we’re doing.”
In 2017 the council partnered with a private company NSL to introduce a team of six full-time Environmental Enforcement Officers equipped with body-worn cameras.
The company's website says the enforcers "patrol the borough’s streets and public spaces, with offenders receiving £80 Fixed Penalty Notices."
A freedom of information act request made to Wandsworth Council shows that in 2018/19, the total amount received for NSL issued FPNs was £275,616.
