Bags at side of bins may lead to fly-tipping fines

Residents who leave extra rubbish next to their wheelie bins in the hope that it will be collected could be fined for fly-tipping, Bradford Council has said.

Reform UK councillor Ian Walker said householders leaving out "side waste" was one of the reasons for the high amount of missed bin collections in the area in recent weeks.

He told a council meeting that increased enforcement had been approved - and would begin imminently.

When questioned about the missed collections, Walker, portfolio holder for neighbourhoods, said there had been numerous issues from staff overheating in the sun to the heat affecting hydraulics in bin wagons.

He said another issue was that poor parking meant some refuse collection lorries were unable to reach homes, an issue the council was looking at.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), councillor Talat Sajawal (Your Bradford Independent, Little Horton) referenced Council Leader Stephen Place's speech in which he hailed the change in leadership brought about by voters in May's local elections.

Sajawal said: "We needed change for the better, not change for the worse.

"When you look at the state of bin collections in the last few weeks – residents are up in arms about that."

Later in the meeting the Reform executive was asked a question on the issue by councillor Abdul Jabar (Lab, Great Horton).

He said: "Can the portfolio holder for neighbourhoods explain why so many collections are being missed, what are the main causes of these failures and what specific actions is the council taking to get a grip on the problem and get back to a reliable service for all?"

Walker said: "The bins issue has been quite emotional over the last few weeks.

"We are looking at starting enforcement for side waste. Side waste is fly tipping – it is when you get a wheelie bin with a bin bag next to it.

"We've seen a huge increase in side waste. We're going to start enforcement with that. That is being implemented now."

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