A woman was taken to court by her local council after a neighbour dumped recyclable waste in her refuse wheelie bin. Catherine Maddy was surprised by a notice from Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council saying she was in breach of failing to dispose of her recyclable waste correctly - even though she was innocent.
Appearing at Cwmbran Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, June 22, Hayley Hawkins, on behalf of the council, told the court how the local authority has decided to take Ms Maddy to court after accusing her of breaching Section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for failing to properly dispose of her recyclable waste.
Ms Hawkins told the hearing the council had decided to drop the case after seeing evidence presented by Ms Maddy which showed that other people were dumping their waste inside her bin. “After reviewing the evidence it is clear a neighbour was using her bin to put waste in,” Ms Hawkins said.
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The evidence included photos from inside the bin showing what had been thrown away - children's toys, children's medicine and nappies in her black bin - which showed Ms Maddy probably wasn't the person responsible. Outside court Ms Maddy, of Western Terrace in Ebbw Vale, told WalesOnline that the ten-month-long battle with the council has caused her stress and financial loss. She said she wishes the council had dropped the case much sooner after seeing the images.
“It was September 12 when I first got a letter from the council’s enforcement team saying I was in breach of recycling regulations,” Ms Maddy, 57, explained. “I asked the officer to give me a ring and he told me he’d found Fruit Shoots and Dr Pepper cans in my wheelie bin. I told him I’m a retired woman living on my own and I don’t have anything like that. It couldn’t possibly have been my waste.
“Then the following month on October 3 and October 4 I got further letters saying I was in breach again. The enforcement officer said if it’s not my waste in the wheelie bin then someone is obviously dumping recyclable waste in my bin.
“I then made sure the bin wasn’t accessible to anyone other than me other than when I put it out for collection. But then it happened again.
"I wrote to the council and said ‘I don’t know what more you want me to do about this’. But they issued me a fine for £100. I told them there is no way I’m paying it because I haven’t done anything wrong.”
After Ms Maddy was sent a final warning letter in January, the council confirmed it was taking her to court. Despite the relatively small fine, however, Ms Maddy said she was committed to continuing to fight the allegation rather than ending the dispute by paying.
As she filed through the stack of paperwork she had prepared ahead of the case, Ms Maddy told the publication it had caused her a lot of worry. “Of course it has. I don’t want to be convicted in court of something I’m not guilty of and have that stain on my character, my reputation and my honesty. I wonder how many people who accept these fines are genuinely guilty.”
Partner Anthony Hale said: “I get angry when I think of all the worry she’s had and the money she’s had to spend to fight all this. I’m still annoyed.
"We’ve had to have the photo evidence printed, all the documents printed. I get nasty when I talk about it because I know all the work she’s had to put in and I know how good she is at recycling.”
Ms Maddy thanked her community for their support after her case became known in the area after she posted about it on social media. “People have been very supportive, and surprised it ended up in court,” she added. “I’d prepared myself for a guilty verdict today because people told me you can’t take on the council. But I have and I’ve won.”
