Daniel Dixon was slapped with a £300 fixed penalty notice for ‘unauthorised waste disposal’ after throwing an A5 cardboard package in a public bin, reports Marco Marcelline

A Leyton man has said Waltham Forest Council should focus on “actual flytippers” after he received a £300 fixed penalty fine for discarding a book parcel in a public bin. 

Daniel Dixon says he was left “outraged” by the fine, which he was sent after council contractors leafed through a Vicarage Road bin at around 10pm on Wednesday, 15th October.

He said the contractors, from environmental enforcement agency 3GS Group, put the ripped up A5 cardboard “back together” to read his address.

Footage shared with the Echo shows several contractors leafing through the bin, which was next to a large fly-tip including furniture and household waste. Daniel’s friend, who shot the video, asks the workers if “digging through the rubbish was what you do now”, and a firm “yes” is heard in response. 

Daniel received a letter from 3GS Group on Thursday, 16th October informing him he had breached section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for the “unauthorised deposit of controlled waste”.

He told the Echo: “They asked me to respond with an explanation for why I breached the law, and the reason was I had no idea that throwing away a book parcel in a public bin was an issue.”

3GS Group were dissatisfied with his explanation and issued him with a fixed penalty notice on behalf of the council, stating he had failed to dispose of waste responsibly. 

Daniel said: “To be told that I had to pay a £300 fine was outrageous. I am looking for an apology from the council and a refund, if I’m honest.”

Councillor Clyde Loakes, deputy leader and cabinet member for climate and air quality, said: “Disposing of bags of household or commercial waste in a public litter bin intended for litter is considered fly-tipping. 

“The evidence recovered in this case was part of a large fly-tip including furniture and household waste discarded in a wide area around a public litter bin, as can be seen in the video provided by the Echo.

“Enforcement officers and contractors routinely carry out evidence checks when investigating fly-tips at known hotspots and at times when offences are more likely to occur. Fly-tipping and misuse of public litter bins increases costs for all residents and undermines our efforts to maintain clean streets.”

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