Pensioner, 95, threatened with legal action after putting butter tub in wrong recycling bag
Last updated at 11:37 AM on 18th May 2010
A 95-year-old widow has been threatened with legal action - for putting an empty butter tub in the wrong recycling bag.
The grandmother was warned she faces prosecution after putting the plastic container in a green bag instead of a black one.
Her family said they were horrified at the warning, which they say could have triggered a heart attack.
Warning: The note was left on the pensioner's recycling bin, warning her she could face prosecution
Karen Walters, 42, said her grandmother was too embarrassed to be identified after the incident.
‘It is scary and ridiculous - she is a really law-abiding citizen,’ she said.
‘If she had seen the warning, she would have had a heart attack. But luckily her son spotted it before she saw it.
‘It’s the fact that a 95-year-old was threatened with prosecution.
‘She was horrified when she was told about it.’
The official notice was stuck to the green bin bag at the pensioner's home in West Cross, Swansea.
The woman had washed 15 tins and put them out for collection – but mistakenly added the empty butter tub.
The recycling team refused to collect the green recycling bag after spotting it.
It stuck the notice advising householders why the rubbish was not collected, which includes a line saying that mixing up recycling can lead to prosecution.
A spokesman for Swansea Council said: ‘We would like to apologise to the lady and her family for any distress caused by the notice placed on her recycling bag.
‘We want to reassure the family that we had no intention of prosecuting the lady.’
He said the advice tag was only meant to give people guidance and inform them why recycling bags were not collected.
A spokesman for charity Age Cymru said: ‘We know that older people in general are excellent at recycling in many ways and it would be a shame to think that because of her mistake in sorting her waste, this lady and her family are put off from doing so in the future.’
I feel that some local councils are making hollow threats, striking fear just like dictators...
