“Recycle Or Else, Comrade…”

Throwing your litter into the wrong street bin will risk an on-the-spot fine and criminal convictions, ministers said yesterday.

Town hall rubbish police, who already inspect household wheelie bins, have been given the power to hand out punishments for misuse of public recycling bins in streets or parks.

Ignoring the new rubbish regulations by, for example, putting crisp packets into bins meant for glass, or ice cream wrappers into bins for cans, will bring financial penalties and the risk of a court appearance if they are not paid.

And the fines will be set at £110 – that’s £30 more than the street penalty that police may charge a shoplifter (on the infrequent occasion they even bother to attend something so trivial).

Extending such punishments comes months after Labour said street bins would be replaced with recycling containers as part of a 'recycle-on-the-go' campaign.

At the time, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs played down suggestions that bin police would have powers to enforce the new recycling rules.

In other words, yup, Nu Labour lied again! Not sure that anyone was stupid enough to believe them though…

Campaigners warned that street recycling bins would in future be watched by armies of litter wardens in the same way that traffic wardens police parking spaces.

Christine Melsom, of the Is It Fair? campaign, said: 'What do they want us to do? Chuck it behind a wall?

'Town halls should be satisfied if people put their litter in a bin and should not fuss over which bin.'

Actually, Christine, Town Halls should be satisfied with whatever the people who pay their wages (i.e, the taxpayer) want. Unfortunately, they are in hock to the watermelons who are pushing their plans for control of the population via ‘green ishoos’.

The Taxpayers' Alliance also condemned the fines.

Spokesman Mark Wallace said: 'This is a typical tactic. Time and again there is a new initiative, and we are told there will be no fines or penalties. Then, lo and behold, punishments start and it turns into a way to raise money.'

Well, of course. Because it’s yet another Nu Labour stealth tax that avoids them having to pay out more taxpayers’ cash from the Treasury to the councils to run the increasing burdens of the services they are insisting councils must provide.

Getting turkeys to vote for Christmas – Nu Labour have been spectacularly successful at that, if nothing else…