A CONFUSING scheme which will fine Blaenau Gwent householders £100 for failing to recycle or use their wheelie bins correctly will cost almost £60,000 to get off the ground.

The Argus reported last week how Blaenau Gwent council’s executive committee agreed to fine residents for repeatedly failing to dispose of their black bin bag waste in the right way or participate in food recycling.

But the authority has revealed that the system will cost £59,000 in new staff and materials. The plan is also proving unpopular with residents, who say it is “threatening” and complain of bully boy tactics.

The system, which went before the environment scrutiny committee before it was approved by the executive, is due to be introduced this summer to tackle households who throw away excess black bag waste or do not participate in food recycling.

Residents who put rubbish on top of or next to their wheelie bin will be issued with green, amber and red warning stickers, and excess rubbish will not be taken away on the second and third occasions.

If they ignore the regulations for a fourth time, they will be issued with a £100 fixed penalty notice.

Residents who do not use their food recycling bins will be sent first, second and final warning letters. Their black bin bags will be inspected to see if they are using them for food waste, and if they still fail to recycle they could also be hit with a £100 fine.

The council will hire three new staff to help run the scheme, although it says the cost will be self-financing because it will be met from the resulting reductions in landfill and landfill tax payments.

But Ebbw Vale resident Malcolm Jones said the money could be much better spent.

He said: “How do you know who an excess bag belongs to?

It could be a neighbour’s or people may start putting bags outside other people’s houses.”

Mr Jones said cats, dogs and seagulls already get into refuse bins and bags, spreading rubbish around, which could be made worse if excess black bags are not taken away, He added: “The place looks like a tip. I think there are lots of other problems the council needs to address before it starts fining people.”

Tredegar resident Vincent Rees, 64, said Blaenau Gwent was using bully boy tactics to get people to recycle, something he said Prime Minister David Cameron has advised against.

Retired aircraft engineer Mr Rees said: “It shows a bombastic attitude and threatening manner towards the rate payers. You can’t make me a criminal because I have not got it right a few times.”

A Blaenau Gwent spokeswoman said the scheme will help the council to meet recycling targets set out by the National Assembly for 2013, and avoid fines from Europe which could run into millions, affecting council tax and services in the borough.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Rubbish idea is just that

WE CANNOT quite believe that Blaenau Gwent council is to spend £59,000 in start-up costs on a scheme to monitor the rubbish being thrown away by residents.

As we said last week we are supporters of recycling. We understand the need all local authorities up and down the country have to find ways of reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.

They are all trying to avoid being fined for missing Assembly-set targets.

But, and this is a very big but, surely there are better ways of going about it than effectively spying on residents.

In the current economic climate to spend so much money employing staff to make sure people’s bins are not over-loaded or are being used incorrectly, seems to us at the very least insensitive.

This spend is an affront to public sector workers at a time when so many of them are facing the very real prospect of losing their jobs.

The council is hoping to recoup the costs from not having to pay Assembly fines and from the £100 fines it will slap on those residents who are either putting too much rubbish in their bins or not using recycling food waste.

That is surely only likely if it all goes according to plan.

We fear that the two schemes announced by the council will confuse residents so much they won’t know whether or not they are doing the right thing in the first place.

We also fear the threat of fines will turn residents against the council’s recycling efforts and will actually exacerbate the existing problem.