Council fines couple £400 for throwing single envelope in public bin

A couple have been hit with a £400 littering fine after one of them threw an envelope into a public bin. Stoke-on-Trent City Council issued Deborah and Ian Day individual fines of £200 after they discovered the envelope, which contained their address.

Deborah, of Dividy Road in Bentilee, was on her way to work when she threw the envelope into a public bin on her street. However, council investigators say this breaches sections 87 and 88 of the Environment Protection Act 1990, making it a littering offense as household waste cannot be put in a public bin.

The 47-year-old hairdresser told Stoke on Trent Live: “I got a letter from the council with a £200 fine and my husband got one too because it looks like we’re both at fault. It is for an empty envelope. in a bin and the council even attached a photo of the envelope with my address on it in their letter.

“I was so angry. Anyway I wasn’t well because I had Covid and I thought ‘what the hell is this’? We have a lot of homeless people emptying bins and leaving trash around – it’s ridiculous – I go to work and pay my taxes.

“There was a man living in an empty freezer in front of the one-stop shop and he left rubbish everywhere but nothing was done about it. It’s shocking and unbelievable, the world has gone crazy.”

She added: “It’s laughable, I’ve emailed and tried to appeal but they still say I’ve committed a crime. I don’t pay it. They even said they would increase the penalty to £2,500 and threatened. court action if we don’t pay the £400. But I’ll go to jail first.

“All for just one envelope. The council is fining innocent people instead of cracking down on those who are actually screwing up.

“People throw sofas and furniture into the street and there’s rubbish all the way to the nearby field. If I see rubbish on my street I pick it up and put it in the bin – it really annoys me.”

A spokesman for Stoke-on-Trent City Council said: “This case is currently under investigation with our environmental crime team and we are unable to comment further at this time.”