Rother County Council fines Battle Woman for throwing trash in the trash can

Olivia Post was fined £400 by Rother District Council in December for throwing rubbish in a community rubbish bin after foxes ripped open rubbish bags near her home in Battle.

Ms. Post spoke of her “astonishment” when the next day a council official showed up at her door to hand her the fine notice.

As it turned out, animals had pulled out the trash again, and city officials found Ms. Post’s address in the trash.

She was told that the small garbage can in front of her house could only be used for rubbish and not household rubbish.

She had reportedly violated Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

“We’re in this constant scenario where there’s trash and trash from all over the parking lot,” she said.

“During the snow it was particularly bad because no one came to empty the bins, there was more rubbish strewn around than was unusual.

“So I went and picked up the trash, took the trash bag from my kitchen, which obviously had some of my trash in it.

“It would never have occurred to me.

“The next day there’s a knock on my door from this officer who managed to get up the icy path which was pretty amazing to be honest because we had no water, no shops open, we were literally cut off.

“I was amazed because the only service we got was someone issuing fines.

“He asked me: “Do you recognize this bag?”.

“Of course I said yes and he said ‘I’ll give you that fine’ and warned me – it’s very intimidating.

“He had his camera on and like the police, he read me my rights.

Olivia Post has been fined £400 by Rother District Council (Image: SWNS)

“I was stunned, I said ‘this ain’t even my trash, except the stuff at the bottom’.”

“I told what I had done, said I went out and picked up all this rubbish, which was disgusting rubbish, and put it in the bin.

“And he said, ‘Well, it’s not in the bin now.’

Ms Post’s appeal against the fine was dismissed by National Enforcement Solution, a private company outsourced by the Council.

But in a “goodwill gesture” the council has since said it will “reimburse” her for the cost of the fine.

A spokesman for Rother County Council said: “Enforcement began in the summer to address the growing problem of fly dumping and littering, which is a real plague in our county.

“Enforcement officers can only deal with the situation they encounter.

“In this case, rubbish was found on the floor containing the name and address of Olivia Post, suggesting the resident had not disposed of her rubbish properly and she was immediately fined.

“We know that there are sometimes circumstances that we are not aware of, and after hearing Ms. Post, we will reimburse her for the costs of the fine as a gesture of goodwill.”