Oxford residents face fines for excess rubbish (From Oxford Mail)

Oxford residents face fines for excess rubbish

6:10am Monday 3rd August 2009 in Search By Tom Shepherd

RESIDENTS across Oxford have been warned they face fines of £80 if they dump sacks of rubbish outside their homes.

From today, Oxford City Council is launching a fresh clampdown on what it describes as “excess rubbish” — non-recyclable waste put out for collection next to or on top of green wheelie bins — in a bid to clean up city grot spots.

And last night the man in charge of the scheme said he would not hesitate to fine offenders.

City councillor John Tanner, executive member for a cleaner, greener city, said: “There are still people across the city who are not playing by the rules and leave piles of rubbish next to their wheelie bins.

“We want them to stop.

“The idea of introducing wheelie bins was to get rid of the piles of rubbish all over the streets which were a mess and a hazard to our binmen because they never knew what was in a bag and how heavy it was going to be.

“We are getting tough on excess rubbish because it’s messy and costs us money.”

Householders who put out too much non-recyclable rubbish over the next four weeks will have a warning card posted through their door — and the extra waste will not be collected.

From August 31, repeat offenders will be fined.

The Town Hall said eliminating excess rubbish would help it meet waste reduction and recycling targets set by the Government.

In a leaflet entitled Bin All Your Rubbish, which has been distributed to every household in the city, it stated: “If we fail to meet these targets, we will face huge fines that will ultimately result in increases in council tax.”

Mr Tanner said it was acceptable for householders to leave neat piles of bottles, paper and plastic next to their recycling boxes if they were full — but not mixed waste.

He said: “We are much more sympathetic to recycling because we want people to recycle, but if it’s mixed waste there’s no excuse.”

The clampdown has sparked a mixed reaction from residents.

Kennett Road resident Stephanie Jenkins said: “What provision is going to be made for student houses, where they dump all their excess rubbish to be collected in the front garden rather than on the pavement?

“Unless and until these sacks become a hazard, people can’t be fined for leaving bags on their own property, can they?

“It’s an ill-conceived plan. Fine the offenders, yes — but don’t leave the rubbish behind for the neighbours to endure.”

Nigel Magnay, of Burrows Close, added: “Householders will discover the easy solution — simply leave your excess rubbish next to someone else’s bins.”

Mr Tanner admitted the council’s powers to tackle littering were limited.

He said: “If people flytip or put rubbish in other people’s gardens we will certainly take action, but if people leave an untidy garden full of rubbish there’s not a lot we can do unless it’s a health hazard. We would simply urge people to be considerate to their neighbours.”