A mother was fined £500 for fly-tipping after she left an Ikea cabinet outside her home.
Isabelle Pepin, 42, from Bournemouth left the cabinet for others in her community to take for free. But three weeks later, a representative from the council knocked on her door and told her she had 14 days to pay the fine or it would be doubled.
Bournemouth council increased fines for fly-tipping in April 2023 to a maximum of £1,000, in line with government regulation. Since then 73 people, including 15 in August, have been fined for fly-tipping.
A carpet fitter from the town was fined £500 for leaving an off-cut outside his home for somebody else to take.
Ms Pepin described the enforcement officer as “quite intimidating” and said that he was wearing a chest camera while questioning her about the cabinet. She claims the officer asked for her name and address, claiming that refusing to answer would result in another offence.
“I am usually quite a confident person but by this point I was shaking and panicking,” said Ms Pepin, a graphic designer and artist who lives with her eight-year-old son. “I have lived in this property for 12 years and I see people in the area leaving things out probably every other day.”
Ms Pepin questioned how the incident fit with the council’s environmental policies. In 2019, Bournemouth declared a climate and ecological emergency. One of the ways the council suggests helping is by “reducing and recycling your waste”.
“It’s not fly-tipping, that is not what is happening here,” she said. “It’s recycling things people no longer want or need.
“We are supposed to be pushing a green agenda but the council are going around fining people for recycling,” she added.
Jeff Hanna, a Liberal Democrat councillor for West Southbourne, said he disagreed with the council’s heavy-handed approach and was looking into the matter.
“I find it difficult to accept that this is fly-tipping, and think a £500 fine is excessive,” he said. “I have told officers that I think at most a friendly warning should have been given.”
Enforcement of fly-tipping fines is carried out by a private company, not council officers. Mr Hanna has asked officers to review the company’s contract.
Cllr Kieron Wilson, the council’s portfolio holder for housing and regulatory services, said that the council was “committed to tackling fly-tipping”.
“Officers closely monitor and manage this waste enforcement contract, which includes regular reviews, and a commitment to responding promptly to any issues or concerns that may arise,” she said.
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