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Woman faces £2,500 court bill for putting her rubbish in a community recycling bin

<em>Hien Nguyen was fined for putting her rubbish into community recycling bins (Rex/stock photo)</em>
Hien Nguyen was fined for putting her rubbish into community recycling bins (Rex/stock photo)

A woman who put a bag of rubbish inside a community recycling bin faces a court bill of £2,500 after she failed to pay the initial £80 fine.

Hien Nguyen was taken to court by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council in Surrey when she didn’t pay the penalty for putting the wrong materials in recycling containers in Woodhatch.

They managed to identify her from the waste she had put in the bin and sent her the fine.

<em>The rubbish had not been put into the correct bins (Rex/stock photo)</em>
The rubbish had not been put into the correct bins (Rex/stock photo)

But after failing to pay and being taken to court, Nguyen faces paying 30 times more than the initial penalty.

She now owes a £1,500 fine, costs of £916 and a victim surcharge fee of £150, a total of £2,566.

Councillor Graham Knight, Reigate & Banstead’s Executive Member for Enforcement defended the fine, telling Get Surrey that the council risks having the entire contents refused for recycling when the wrong containers are used.

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He said: “Dumping rubbish in a recycling container is fly-tipping and has a significant impact on the environment.

“It is important that members of the public take these fines seriously; when a fine is not paid we will always consider the courts as an option.”