Council to issue £2,500 fines to locals who place rubbish in wrong bin despite ‘innocent mistakes’

Residents in Rotherham could face fines of up to £2,500 if they put incorrect items in their recycling bins under strict new council measures.

The South Yorkshire authority is launching a crackdown on contaminated recycling bins, with town hall officials set to monitor bin contents and collection times.

The initiative comes as the council reveals contamination of recycling bins costs more than £1million annually in extra disposal costs and lost recycling income.

Households who leave their bins out after 7pm on collection day will also face scrutiny, with council enforcement teams investigating reports of late bin removal.

Those who break the rules could initially receive fixed penalty notices ranging from £80 to £400.

If the fine is not paid, the resident could end up in court and be faced with a conviction and fine that could cost up to £2,500.

The council plans to implement a “traffic light” warning system for contaminated recycling bins.

First-time offenders will receive a yellow tag warning on their bin.

A second violation triggers an orange tag, accompanied by a letter warning of potential penalties.

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Third offences result in a red tag and a fixed penalty notice, which could lead to fines.

The council will reward reformed residents with green tags if they improve their recycling habits after previous violations.

“All bins will be visually checked prior to collection and any recycling or garden waste container found to be contaminated will not be emptied,” Barry Connolly, Head of Environmental Services, said.

Contaminated bins will only be collected once prohibited items are removed and on the next scheduled collection day.

The council’s fleet of bin wagons are equipped with advanced technology to monitor compliance.

On-board systems can verify if residents have put their bins out, check for contamination, and identify unauthorised garden waste collections.

Officials will use waste management software to verify claims from residents who dispute contamination tags or report missed collections.

The council serves 121,800 homes and 271,000 residents across 25 wards in the borough.

The authority plans to improve communication with residents about proper recycling practices.

This will include educational campaigns through local media, digital tools, and outreach programmes to help reduce contamination and improve waste sorting.

A pilot of the new measures will begin in two areas of Rotherham in April 2025, though these locations are yet to be identified.

The trial will run alongside a public consultation on the new rules.

The strict measures have drawn criticism from the TaxPayers’ Alliance, who said: “Taxpayers are fed up with wasting their time sorting through rubbish.”

“While wanting to increase recycling may be a noble ambition, these increasingly complex rules and reduced collections risk punishing hard working households who make innocent mistakes,” the group added.

The council aims to meet its recycling target of 45 per cent through the new policy.

Some recycling rules have already proved complex, with items like glittery greeting cards being prohibited from paper recycling bins.