Overview
- Local authority officers may issue penalties when residents fail to follow collection rules in ways that cause or risk nuisance or harm to local amenities.
- Actionable breaches include obstructing pavements or roads with rubbish, leaving bins out for several days that restrict access, or abandoning damaged or overturned bins that could attract vermin.
- Before any fixed penalty, councils must write to the householder explaining the breach, its actual or potential impact, the required remedial action and the deadline to comply, plus the consequences of inaction.
- If issues continue, a notice of intent can be served, the resident has 28 days to respond, councils must consider any response, and a final notice can follow 28 days after the intent.
- Final notices cap the full fixed penalty at £80 and must set out payment terms, reasons, consequences and the appeals route, while minor errors such as brief early set-outs, wrong-bin mistakes or an open lid are not finable.