The Duke Street black bin is in a residential area (Image: Google)
A mum is facing fly-tipping charges after collecting a small parcel from an Aldi collection point.
Natasha Sheldon Lane, 35, has been asked to attend an “interview under caution” after the parcel’s plastic envelope was discovered in a public waste bin.
Eager to check the correct order had been delivered, she opened the parcel and disposed of its non-recyclable wrapper into a black bin on Duke Street, Flint.
She thought nothing more of it until a letter arrived from Flintshire Council’s environmental enforcement team.
This alleged her of the “unlawful depositing of waste” under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, reports North Wales Live.
Called to an interview with an environmental crime officer at the council’s Alltami depot, Natasha was told she could bring a solicitor at her own expense.
As she’s a mother of two who provides full-time care for her youngest child, aged 13, who has additional needs, she cannot travel to the depot.
Instead, a crime officer will visit her home today.
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“I spoke to the officer this morning,” she said.
“He told me I could be facing fly-tipping charges with a £300 fine. He said he also has discretion to impose a £75 littering fine instead. If I could afford a solicitor, I would be fighting this all the way.”
Natasha acknowledges she made three critical errors: failing to tear up the plastic envelope to hide her address; confessing to officials that she had put the envelope in the bin; and not realising the plastic could land her in such serious trouble.
“I’d have been better off throwing it on the floor,” she said. “My only crime was being honest and law-abiding – placing the envelope in the bin and then admitting I’d done so.”
Natasha added: “What’s happened is completely ridiculous. It’s causing unnecessary stress to someone who only tried to do the right thing.
“What’s worrying is that council staff are rifling through public bins in the hope of catching someone out. How much is this costing? The council is always complaining it has no money yet it can afford to do this.”
According to Natasha, officials informed her she was being held liable for all the rubbish in the black bin since her item was the sole piece of litter discovered inside bearing an address label. “The officer told me I was the fourth person to be investigated for this offence this week,” she said.
Natasha has voiced her concerns in an attempt to alert others about the pitfalls of rubbish disposal. Despite her plastic wrapper being labelled as non-recyclable for household bins, she later found out it could have been voluntarily placed in “soft plastics” recycling containers at supermarkets and Co-op stores.
A section of the letter Natasha received from an environmental crime officer (Image: undefined)
This also applies to items like crisp packets and bread bags that can’t be recycled in household bins.
“It’s really sad that people are being targeted who are only trying to do the right thing,” she said. I understand there are some items that shouldn’t be put in a public bin, like diabetic boxes containing used needles that should be returned to a chemist.
“But a non-recyclable plastic parcel wrapper? Where’s the common sense in that? The most annoying thing is that I live nearby and I can see this bin from my house. Every day I see older people sitting down nearby to read their letters – will they be targeted too?”.
When Natasha shared her experiences online, it sparked outrage. The anger was exacerbated by rapidly increasing council taxes, reduced litter collections and a fly-tipping epidemic that left some back streets clogged with discarded furniture and household items.
She added: “I will probably have to accept the £75 littering fine as I can’t afford a fly-tipping charge. In this day and age, who can afford these kinds of spurious fines? It will have to come out of my carer’s allowance.
“I worry that some people will have to go without eating just to pay off these fines.
“It may be too late for me to do anything about it. But I hope that by highlighting what has happened to me, it will help stop others falling into the same trap.”
Flintshire Council confirmed it was “currently investigating this matter”.
Katie Wilby, chief officer for Streetscene and Transportation, stated: “As it is an active investigation, it is not appropriate to comment further at this stage.”
According to its website, Flintshire Council explains that under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, disposing of household or business waste in public litter bins constitutes an offence.
The authority clarifies: “Public litter bins are provided only for waste produced when you’re out and about, and bagged dog waste.
“They should not be used for disposing of domestic or business waste. In town centres, these bins are emptied 2 to 3 times per day, and regularly in other areas.
“It is also a fly-tipping offence to leave any type of waste, including domestic and business waste, near a litter bin (e.g. black bin bag or shopping bag).
“If your waste is found to be dumped illegally, whether you know about it or not, you can be fined up to £5,000.”