North Ayrshire Council is warning residents and businesses to dispose of their rubbish responsibly - or face a fine of up to £500.
The ultimatum comes after the council’s Streetscene team reported a rise in instances of public bins being used for commercial and residential waste.
Household or commercial rubbish may not be disposed of in council bins as this is classed as fly-tipping under the Environmental Protection (Scotland) Act, which makes it a criminal offence.
Businesses have a statutory duty of care for their own waste and placing it in public bins puts a burden on Streetscene resources and on the council, which needs to pay landfill tax for waste that is disposed of irresponsibly.
Shopkeepers who fill street bins outside their stores with their commercial waste should have their own waste contract. Additionally, commercial waste can result in personal data breaches - as has recently been noticed by Streetscene staff who discovered paperwork with customers’ names, addresses and phone numbers in street bins.
Councillor Tony Gurney, cabinet member for green environment and economy, said: “Misuse of public litter bins, for example filling them with business waste – is denying a service to others who may wish to use them.
“This is an offence and where we find evidence of local businesses doing this, these businesses will be charged a minimum of £120 for the servicing of the bin in question.
“Most people are respectful and take pride in keeping their neighbourhood – and places they visit in North Ayrshire – clean and tidy. We remind everyone that public litter bins are for public litter only.”
In an effort to deter the improper use of public bins, the council is trialling new bins with a smaller slot at the top to prevent bulky items being deposited.
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