Helensburgh councillor slams report on household waste fines

Argyll and Bute Council’s proposed responses to a consultation on the Scottish Government’s Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill include support for a the idea of a ‘fixed penalty’ regime for any breaches of a householder’s duty of care.

But one councillor slammed what he said was an “extreme” proposal which would lead to the authority’s own staff becoming “snoopers and snitches”.

The discussion took place at a meeting of the authority’s environment, development and infrastructure committee on Thursday, June 20.

The draft consultation response from the council states: “ABC [Argyll and Bute Council] supports the initiative to strengthen the householder’s duty of care regarding household waste by considering breaches as criminal offences and introducing a new fixed penalty regime for enforcement.

“The current approach, of intervening through education before recycling service removal, may inadvertently lead residents to dispose of recycling improperly, which conflicts with the principles of a circular economy.

“ABC advocates for empowering local authorities with additional enforcement powers, similar to those available for fly-tipping offences, starting with fixed penalty notices (FPNs) and escalating to court action if necessary.

“Striking a balanced and progressive approach is deemed essential to prevent an overload of court cases and garner increased public support for any enforcement actions.

“However, while ABC supports the idea of increased powers for councils, there are valid concerns.

“Enforcing fixed penalty notices (FPNs) in Scotland raises apprehensions about the feasibility of holding householders accountable through this method due to financial constraints, and resource limitations for local authorities in implementing and enforcing such measures.”

Councillor Gary Mulvaney (Conservative, Helensburgh Central) told the meeting: “I struggle with this and I hope the bill is significantly amended.

“The thought of criminalising households for putting waste in the wrong bin, to me, is extreme.

“I never thought we would end up in a society where [putting waste in the wrong bin] was the wrong thing to do.

“We are going to turn our staff into snoopers and snitches, and that is not something we should look for our staff to do.

“There are also questions around enforcement, in terms of equity and efficiency. How will we ensure, if the law is the law, that we have some degree of diligence applied in rural communities as in larger towns?

“Can you tell who has put the wrong thing in the wrong place? You could have people putting things in other people’s bins as theirs is full.

“I am not saying that things do not need to change, but criminalising is too much and we need to rally round.

“I do not think officers have reflected this in the consultation.”

Jim Smith, the council’s head of amenity services, responded: “I note the points and the suggestion we put these comments to the Scottish Government.

“We do not have all the information yet. I think we need to understand what the information is likely to be. At the moment we are reporting what we know and we expect there to be implications for the council.”

Councillor Mulvaney added: “I am afraid, with all due respect, we are not sitting on the fence, because it says that the council supports this.”

Executive director Kirsty Flanagan said: “We could put a supplementary submission back following this meeting and advise that the view of our committee is not supportive of these points, if that is what the members wish.”

The council’s leader, Cllr Jim Lynch (SNP, Oban South and the Isles), said: “I share Councillor Mulvaney’s concerns on making it a criminal offence. That is a bit steep.

“I take Ms Flanagan’s point, but members should be making it clear we are not happy with that element.

“It is too punitive and I do not think it adds anything to the bill.”

Councillor Lynch then offered to write to the Scottish Government in a joint letter with Councillor Mulvaney as leader of the opposition.