Neighbours have been left furious after they were fined £600 each by ‘over the top’ council officers who mistook their recycling for fly-tipping. 

Fiona Muir, of Ealing, West London, said she and her neighbours have been leaving their recycling on a grass verge for years as they live on a red route, meaning vehicles are restricted from stopping outside their homes. 

But after placing some cardboard boxes in the usual spot for collection, Ms Muir said her household and those next door were hit with ‘threatening’ letters from Ealing Council fining them £600 each for fly-tipping.  

The homeowner has since vowed ‘never to recycle again’ as she condemned ‘over the top’ council officers for wrongly dishing out fines. 

She told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s so unsettling and threatening for those who receive them and who are clearly innocent.

‘We think we’re good residents and this is wrong. They’re branding us as criminals.’

Ms Muir added: ‘This is how we put our recycling out for collection and have done so for years with no problem.’ 

The homeowner said there is an issue with fly-tipping in the area and she has previously reported severe cases of it to the council. 

Having submitted an appeal to challenge their fines, Ms Muir said she received another letter stating the case has been put on hold pending further review by an officer. 

But Ms Muir remains fearful of more fines as she cannot put her recycling directly outside her home due to the nature of the road.

‘It’s just been upsetting. We used to think quite highly of Ealing Council but now we’re really disappointed in them,’ she said. 

‘Now we’re in this situation where we’ve appealed and we’re waiting for them to get back to us within 20 days. Hopefully they will come to their senses and cancel this, but we have to wait. 

‘The tone is aggressive and I think if an older person got this they would be really upset. It’s just really unbelievable and wrong.’ 

Ms Muir explained they have a wheelie bin at the side of the house for rubbish but have always been told to leave their recycling on the grass verge. 

‘That is the procedure that we’ve always done. If that’s changed they need to let us know properly,’ she said. 

‘When everyone is really struggling in this climate, it’s just so wrong and unreasonable.’ 

The Daily Mail has contacted Ealing Council for comment. 

It comes just months after Ealing Council launched a campaign – titled ‘This is our home, not a tip’ – to crack down on anti-social waste dumpers, threatening fly-tippers with fines of up to £1,000. 

The punishment replaces the old limit of £400, less than half the amount of the new FPN. 

The council recorded 22,730 incidents of fly-tipping across the borough in 2024, and spends around £3million per year clearing and disposing of rubbish. 

Last week, a Londoner was slapped with a £150 fine for pouring the remnants of her coffee down a drain after she was ‘chased’ by three council officers.

Burcu Yesilyurt, from Kew, west London, said she tipped a small amount of the drink from her reusable cup down the road gully because she didn’t want to spill it on the bus.

But moments later, she was ‘shocked’ to see three male enforcement officers ‘chasing’ her down the street as she stood at the bus stop near Richmond station.

The officers fined her £150 under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, reduced to £100 if she paid within 14 days.

Ms Yesilyurt said she found the encounter ‘quite intimidating’ and was left feeling ‘shaky’ on her way to work.

But Richmond-upon-Thames Council insisted its officers ‘acted professionally and objectively’ and were ‘justified’ in issuing the fine.

The council later said it had cancelled the fine and was ‘reviewing our advice on the disposal of liquids in a public place’.