A SINGLE mother has been fined £1,000 after she left a cardboard envelope next to an overflowing bin.
The nurse was tracked down by her local council from the address on the envelope and told unless she pays the £1,000 fly-tipping fine, they will take legal action.
Lorretta Alvarez put the envelope on top of some boxes by the communal bins used by her and 34 other flats in her block in Feltham, West London.
She thought she was “doing the right thing” by leaving the envelope by the bins as she assumed the council would take the overflowing rubbish on collection.
The 26-year-old is the sole-carer for her two-year-old daughter and said she can’t afford to fork out for the penalty and would fight her case in court if necessary.
The mental-health nurse told The Telegraph: “I’m trying to balance working and being a single mum, and this is so stressful. I have to stay professional at work but this is always in the back of my mind.
“People who get caught speeding will pay less.”
Loretta said she wouldn’t intentionally dump rubbish in the open but the shared bins were full to the brim.
“I felt that if I stuffed this into the bin, it’s going to make the problem worse,” she said. “I thought I was doing the right thing.”
The brown envelope contained a birthday present from her aunt which arrived on September 20.
On October 1 Loretta received the £1,00 fixed-penalty notice from Hounslow Council and she was told she had a deadline of November 5 to pay the sum.
She tried to negotiate to pay the fine in instalments but she said the council refused and insisted it was paid as one.
The council have now extended the deadline and will not chase Loretta for payments.
It is understood that the council believe Loretta is at fault for all the waste left by the bins.
Loretta denied claims that she dumped all the rubbish.
“It’s been so stressful. I didn’t want this to happen, I wouldn’t want it to happen to someone else” she said.
She added: “I don’t have that money to give, I can’t afford getting into debt to pay it, and I don’t want to get a mark on my record.”
The real issue she said is that there are not enough bins for the number of households.
The six general waste bins are often full to the brim by collection on Monday said Loretta.
‘THIS SHOULD BE A COUNCIL ISSUE – NOT MINE’
“I don’t think there’s enough bins for how many people live here,” she continued.
“This should be a council issue – not mine.”
Cabinet member for community safety, customer service and enforcement, Cllr Pritam Grewal, said: “We remain committed to taking a zero-tolerance approach to littering and protecting the local environment.
“We are clear that we have done the right thing in dealing with this, and issuing the fine, because littering includes leaving waste anywhere in public apart from in a bin, regardless of whether bins are full.
“While we accept that no one likes receiving a fine, residents expect us to tackle the offence and the offenders.
“As well as making our streets look neglected, it represents an added cost to council taxpayers, who have to foot the bill for littering and fly-tipping.”
A council spokesperson told the BBC: “We are clear that we have done the right thing in dealing with this, and issuing the fine, because fly-tipping includes leaving waste anywhere in public apart from in a bin, regardless of whether bins are full.
“While we accept that no one likes receiving a fine, residents expect us to tackle the offence and the offenders.
“As well as making our streets look neglected, it represents an added cost to Council taxpayers, who have to foot the bill for fly-tipping.”
