Councils urged to seek power to fine people who leave their bins out after collection day

A committee at Ards and North Down Borough Council has agreed to make an appeal to all the other 10 councils in Northern Ireland to join forces with them to lobby the new Environment Minister at Stormont to give local authorities the ability to take action against bins blocking footpaths in residential areas.

Ards and North Down Council contacted Stormont over a year ago to make an appeal for powers similar to those in England where local authorities can issue fixed penalty notices after written warnings. Councils in Northern Ireland can only appeal for residents to be considerate in their bin usage.

Before the Executive got up and running again the permanent secretary at the Department of Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs told Ards and North Down Council last December: “A forum such as the National Communications Action Plan could be a good starting point for messaging which will support behaviour change in this area.”

Then in March, the new DAERA minister, Andrew Muir MLA, who was formerly an Alliance Councillor at Ards and North Down wrote to the council: “Should a council determine that there is a significant problem with the placing and removal of bins in its area it would be up to that council to consider if it already has sufficient powers to remedy the problem through, for example, enhanced communications to ratepayers.

“If not, the council may wish to engage initially with other Northern Ireland councils to establish if this is a widespread issue and whether other councils have identified successful approaches to address the matter.

“If a significant problem continues to exist that cannot be resolved through existing powers, then a petition on behalf of the councils can be made to my Department to amend the Waste and Contaminated Land Order (Northern Ireland) 1997 to provide additional regulatory responsibilities on all councils.”

Council officers at the Ards and North Down Council Environment Committee in response recommended that the council formally writes to the other NI Councils, asking for their support.

DUP Councillor Alistair Cathcart proposed the committee accept this, as well as a further letter to Minister Muir outlining the problems faced in the borough regarding bins on pavements. He received unanimous support.

Councillor Cathcart told the chamber: “It is a big issue in urban areas, and indeed today I got an email complaining about bins left on the street in Bangor.

He added: “We are not talking about a power that is going to be wildly used, we are only talking about persistent areas where bins are permanently left out and the residents are not responding to requests. The problem is, if you do not have teeth, you cannot enforce it – that is the reality.

Green Councillor Barry McKee said: “It is clear to us as councillors there is a significant problem here. I can’t imagine any other city, town or village being any different in Northern Ireland.”

SDLP Councillor Joe Boyle said: “To be honest I think the Minister just batted the problem back to us. I wouldn’t say washed his hands of it, that would be too extreme, but we have really got no further here with this response.

“So we are to write to all the councils now, to take on the mantle as champions of bins? I feel the whole thing is very loose, I think the Department should have come up with more, and I think the Minister should have come up with more.”