Port Adelaide Enfield Council threatens locals with $312 fines over rubbish bins

How quickly do you bring in your bins? It might not be fast enough for this Adelaide council. It’s been laying down the law before bringing in the bucks.

Port Adelaide Enfield residents who leave their bins out for too long could be slapped with a $312 fine, with a number of residents receiving warning letters from council and others penalised over the misdemeanour.

The issue has divided communities, with one local fearing they would be unable to pay the fine at once if they were expiated.

Under Port Adelaide Enfield Council’s waste management by-laws, bins can be placed out after 4pm the night before rubbish collection and should be taken in by midnight the day after collection.

A council spokesman said if it receives reports of bins being left out past collection day, the resident is sent a reminder letter.

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“Residents can be fined for leaving their bins out however that is a last resort and only occurs after repeated warnings,” he said.

Council has issued expiations on four occasions in the past five years.

The spokesman said because these complaints are captured under a general waste management category, council could not comment on how many warning letters have been issued.

Hadi Jafari is a Kilburn resident who was surpised to learn of the council’s bin time limits. Picture: Dean Martin

But at least two people have taken to an online forum this week to voice their frustration over receiving such letters from council.

One Reddit user said they were sent a “final warning” letter after council received a complaint about their failure to bring their bins inside in a timely fashion.

The resident said the cost of the fine was “absurd”

“How is “$312” justified for leaving a bin out too long on a quiet backroad?” they said in a post.

Council said the resident in question was not fined.

Another Port Adelaide Enfield resident, who also received a letter from council, echoed the sentiment said the fine “was ridiculous”.

A council spokesperson said $312.50 is the expiation amount for any breach of council by-laws.

“Leaving bins out can impact many things including accessibility for people walking, in wheelchairs or pushing prams on footpaths, and it can also impact vehicle and emergency access on streets,” he said.

Some Reddit commenters backed council, agreeing the rule protected vulnerable residents who may use wheelchairs or prams from hazards.

Meanwhile, Kilburn waiter Hadi Jafari told The Advertiser he had “no idea” about the fines and was “really, really surprised to hear about it”.

Mr Jafari said he and his siblings, with whom he lives, are often at work or school, so the bin schedule can sometimes be difficult to coordinate, but that he would be “paying extra attention” to it now.

“Three hundred dollars for a fine is really hard for people to afford, it is really a lot of money,” he said.

“We would probably have to repay it over time, I don’t think we could pay it at once so that is not good.

“But also, if more people know about this, then it probably encourages people so that they don’t leave barriers on the footpath for pedestrians and have more consideration for others.”

Originally published as Port Adelaide Enfield Council threatens locals with $312 fines over rubbish bins