Petition Brighton & Hove Council to Terminate 3GS Private Waste Enforcement Contract

Brighton and Hove Council uses a private enforcement company to enforce fines of up to £600 for offences as small as putting one cardboard box in the wrong bin.

Countless Brighton and Hove residents, acting in good faith, have been fined under a system that was designed to target fly-tippers. Faced with a sudden £300- £600 fine for one cardboard box, residents discover that there is no appeal system.

On Monday, 7 March 2016 Brighton and Hove Council put out a press release promising to "encourage everyone to produce less waste and recycle more."

While we wholeheartedly agree with this honourable principle, what the Council did next has created an almighty mess.

The press release went on:
"The officers, employed by private company 3GS Environmental Solutions, have already begun patrolling in the city."

Over the following year private company 3GS, based in Hampshire, began a campaign of heavy handed enforcement without regard for proportionality of common sense. Residents who accidentally put cardboard from small businesses (such as home run businesses) in domestic recycling bins, were fined up to £600 PER cardboard box. This is still ongoing and flies in the face of common sense.

Tactics used by 3GS on residents who have used the wrong bins (not fly tippers) have included intimidation - using “officers” and cameras. Threatening letters mentioning imminent court appearances, repeated emails containing obscure incomprehensible language.

We maintain that the fine is out of proportion. We believe the treatment is unnecessary.

We urge Councillor Gill Mitchell, chair of the environment, transport and sustainability committee, to review the contract with 3GS, and to terminate the contract immediately.