Cork woman to appeal €150 litter fine for not fully closing bin lids

The wheelie bins on the Boreenmanna Road in Cork which have led to the homeowners facing a €150 litter fine.

A woman has vowed to appeal a €150 litter fine for not fully closing the lids of two slightly overloaded wheelie bins.

Geraldine Nagle, who lives with her family off the Boreenmanna Road in Cork, said she was “flabbergasted” when the fine landed.

“The postman arrived with a registered letter and when I opened it, I just couldn’t believe it,” she said.

The notice, issued by Cork City Council’s environment department, alleges an offence under Section 3 (2) of the Litter Pollution Act 1997 had been committed on a specific date in March.

An offence

Under this section, it is deemed an offence if a person deposits anything that is commercial, household, industrial or municipal waste in any place for collection by or on behalf of a local authority or by another person “in such circumstances as to create litter or lead to litter in any public place or any place that is visible to any extent from a public place”.

Attached to the notice was a photograph of the Nagles’ domestic waste and brown waste bins outside their house at 9.11am on that date in March, ready for collection later that morning.

The photo shows that the bins were slightly overloaded and the lids were partially open.

“We are very conscious of the environment but I didn’t know it could be an offence not to fully close the lid of your bin,” Ms Nagle said.

The notice warns that unless the €150 fine is paid within 21 days of the date of the notice, District Court proceedings would be instituted and that in the event of a successful prosecution, they will incur a criminal conviction.

Overloaded bins 'unsightly and unsanitary'

The council said it can’t comment publicly on individual litter fine cases but in a statement it said overloaded bins are “unsightly and unsanitary and have potential to lead to or cause litter".

It said city bye-laws introduced in 2019 augment the provisions of the Litter Pollution Act, and state that waste must be presented in "an appropriate waste container that is not overloaded and that the lid of the waste container shall be securely closed".

Waste presented for collection on the lid or next to the wheelie bin is also a breach of the bye-laws, it said.

The council said it plans to launch a renewed publicity campaign about the bye-laws soon.