A BASILDON resident has been handed a £1,000 fine for driving across the borough to dump pink and black sacks.

Basildon Council has begun taking enforcement action against people who refuse to comply with the new waste collection service.

Councillors say a minority of people are continuing to leave out black and pink sacks despite having the new bins delivered.

Residents in Basildon now have to split their rubbish into six different sections, for fortnightly collections in a bid to cut waste going to landfill.

There is a black bin for non-recyclable items, two reusable sacks; one for cans and plastic, and the other for paper and cardboard; an orange box for glass, a food waste caddy, and a green bin for garden waste.

Craig Rimmer, Conservative councillor responsible for Pitsea South East ward, said one resident has already been handed a £1,000 fine as the council crackdown with enforcement action.

He said: “We have now handed out a £1,000 fine to someone who drove across town to dump black and pink sacks in random communal bins in Pitsea.

“There is a small minority of people who are deliberately doing the wrong thing. It is a form of flytipping.

“And I think enforcement action is the way for those people who drive across town, people who known the rules, and continue to leave and throw out the sacks.

“We will go straight to enforcement when we know it is deliberate.

“I know some people are still getting used to it, and those people we will educate. But there are people who are deliberately doing it and it is unacceptable.”

This comes after a petition, which was set up calling on Basildon Council to revert back to previous waste collection services, has received more than 2,500 signatures.

Mr Rimmer added: “Everyone hates change. I hate change. It is so inconvenient.

“But it is the right thing to do for the planet, and if we want to avoid landfill in the borough, this is the way to go.

“We have to do something to stem the amount of rubbish we are creating as human. We all get upset when we see the amount of waste in the ocean. This is how you fix it.

“As inconvenient as it is, this is what we had to do. People will get used to it.