(BBC) SAVE THE ISABELLE PEPIN ONE

An MP has questioned a woman's £500 fine for leaving an Ikea storage system on a pavement for interested passers-by to collect.

Isabelle Pepin left the item in front of her house in Southbourne, Bournemouth, and said she had hoped someone else in the community could still make use of it.

A contractor working for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council issued the fine, saying the furniture had been left on a public highway rather than Ms Pepin's own property.

Ever since I joined the waste management industry I've always understood the concept of throwing something away as 'discarding' it - that's what the government says anyway:-

When a material is waste – discard

A material is waste if the holder has discarded it. The holder is the person or legal entity who has the material at the time it’s discarded.

When Isabelle Pepin put her piece of IKEA furniture on the pavement in front of her house, it could be argued that she was being 'untidy' or 'foolish' but was she actually discarding it? Apparently not. Isabelle was waiting to see if anyone wanted it as there was "still life left in it".

As the IKEA unit had not been discarded, it was never technically waste. Not being waste, it cannot be dealt with under any waste/fly tipping legislation. More of the original article  (BBC) - link - more like this (waste) - linklink

In my opinion, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council was/is wrong.