One hundred and eighty-five thousand pounds. That is how much a dozen local councils in England and Wales have raised through fixed penalties from households putting their rubbish out on the wrong day. This includes households who have put the bins out just a few hours too soon or left their wheelie bins on the road. Is this just another case of local government's desperation to get as much money of their residents as possible through any means? It does seem that these fines are always put on things that are unavoidable and where people are likely to have a small slip up every now and then. We have to put our rubbish out, we can not keep it stored away at home, rather like many people have to use their cars as there really is no viable alternative. Hence the government has you in their trap and will get as much out of you as possible and then blame you for it all.
There are obviously hygiene issues with putting your rubbish out on the street, but why do the Councils have to be so heavy handed and treat us all with such contempt? Some councils, including Med-way and Ealing, levy a £110 fine. Fewer than half the councils that are currently penalising people offer a discount for quick payment. It is like school masterly bullying, you have to do as they say no questions asked. Besides, if it is so unhygienic why are many councils now only doing collections every two weeks? It is a cheap and unfair way to milk yet more money out of us. It is the government's answer to everything - too much carbon, tax them. Too many cars, tax them. Too much rubbish, tax them. But what are the alternatives?? We have to drive and we create rubbish - how about the government and its endless supply of experts come up with a better solution than blaming the electorate and making them pay.