Brighton charity hit with £300 fine for 'honest mistake' using bins

Staff at Brighton and Hove Wood Recycling Project mistakenly used a communal bin when waste was not bagged correctly at a bin outside the workshop in Edward Street, Brighton.

In the morning of June 17, two volunteers, one of whom has learning difficulties, the other very new to the workshop, were asked to move waste contained in ordinary sacks to a different area, Pete West the charity’s CEO said.

The bins staff are supposed to use outside the workshop (Image: The Wood Store)

The pair misunderstood and took the bags out to the street bin.

Council officers were there outside the workshop, also known as the Wood Store, and saw the waste being deposited and issued a fixed penalty notice.

Mr West, himself a Green city councillor and former mayor, said his staff tried to explain that they always put the waste in the official bags before putting it in the communal bin.

READ MORE: Mum 'forced' to pay £400 for leaving waste next to bin 'council doesn't empty'

“This was an unfortunate mistake that won’t happen again,” said Mr West.

He appealed the fine by explaining what had happened, but the council decided to uphold the penalty.

The bin The Wood Store volunteers mistakenly used this communal bin in Edward Street (Image: The Wood Store)

Mr West said: “I’m very conscious of the need for the council to properly manage use of the communal bins and appreciate that technically we have committed an offence, but this was an honest mistake made by a volunteer with learning disabilities who misunderstood what to do.

“We run on a shoestring and are crowdfunding to save the organisation and really can’t afford this insensitive fine, which will only serve to reduce the support we can give to disadvantaged people.”

The Wood Store team outside the workshop (Image: The Wood Store)

Councillor Tim Rowkins, cabinet member for net zero and environmental services, said: “Businesses must dispose of their commercial waste legally and it is the responsibility of the business to make sure all staff have received suitable training and guidance on how to do so.

“Disposing of commercial waste by illegally using bins meant for residential waste limits the space available for residents to responsibly dispose of their household rubbish, which can lead to further issues.

“When a fixed penalty notice is issued, businesses are able to appeal and provide additional information to us, which is then reviewed under the council’s Fixed Penalty Notice Challenge process. In this instance, the decision was to uphold the fine.”