Council refuses to empty pensioner's garden waste bin - because he put cabbage trimmings in it

Retired milkman Barry Freezer made the mistake of dumping cabbage stalks in his bin and incurred the wrath of the council's waste collection supremos.

He says they treated him like a criminal and refused to collect his garden waste, claiming the cabbage trimmings were kitchen rubbish.

The binmen were following an obscure rule that forbids food that may have come into contact with meat from being mixed with garden waste for composting, to prevent outbreaks of diseases such as foot and mouth.

The 73-year-old, who lives in West Earlham, Norwich, with wife Heather, said: "When did you last buy a cabbage with a stalk at a supermarket?

"It should be obvious that this was garden waste that never came into contact with the kitchen.

"I pay £35 a year on top of my council tax to have a garden waste bin and I am being treated like a criminal for following the rules.

"No one told me exactly what I had done wrong so I moved the cabbage stalks into the household refuse bin, which was collected the following week. I then had to wait another week to see if they would collect the shrubbery clippings in my garden waste."

He added: "What am I supposed to do when my potatoes come? Sometimes the top is diseased and you shouldn't compost them.

"I'll have to put them in the household bin but that won't be collected if it has garden waste.

"The system is ridiculously complicated. People like me will be making 'mistakes' all the time.

"I could burn my garden waste but it's not good for the environment."

To add to Mr Freezer's fury, a red tag was attached to his bin as punishment. Usually two yellow warning tags are issued before a red tag, which is a final warning meaning rubbish won't be collected until it complies with the rules.

Mr Freezer said he had written to Norwich City Council but had not received a response.

Last week it emerged the same council had refused to empty the bin of partially sighted ex-Desert Rat Lenny Woodward, 95, because he put a ketchup bottle and an empty coffee jar in the wrong bin.

Brian Morrey, the councillor in charge of refuse collections, yesterday said the measures were a result of an Animal By-Products Order, imposed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, aimed at preventing outbreaks of swine fever or foot and mouth disease when compost is spread on the land.

Of the red tag, he added: "Red tags can be issued straight away if collectors think it's applicable. This only happens if the householder is obviously ignoring the rules.

"There has been a bit of confusion between officers and councillors over this and we are going to take another look at it."

A Defra spokesman backed the council yesterday, saying: "The guidance is there to protect farmers and members of the public."