Sandwiches are dangerous things

Frank Hughes, 62, was threatened with the penalty by a council official during a spot inspection at his office and told he may be punished over his used tea bags.[> [> The businessman, who runs a small scaffolding firm, works from an industrial unit with his wife Liz, 61, while their team of labourers visit sites across Liverpool.[> [> But the official insisted they had flouted new nationwide laws which force companies to declare industrial waste despite the couple explaining they only have cling film from their home-made sandwiches and soggy tea bags.[>

[> Yesterday Mr Hughes branded their action “laughable”.[> [> He told the Daily Express: “In the face of recession, Britain should be looking after its small businesses, not hitting them with as many stealth taxes as they can dream up.[> [> “They want to fine me £300 for sandwich wrappers. The world’s gone crazy. We got a letter from the council’s environmental waste department, like everybody else, about six months ago asking us to declare the waste we produce.[>

[> “I wrote back to them saying we don’t have any. We didn’t get anything back and so I though nothing of it, until an officer walked into the office out of the blue for an inspection. There was no warning, he just bounded in and demanded to inspect our waste.[> [> “He accused us of lying and said there are dire consequences for trying to avoid having a proper licence.”[> [> He added: “It got me a bit riled. Then I remembered that my wife had made me cheese sandwiches that day so I produced the cling film and said, ‘the only waste here comes from my sarnie wrappers’.[>

[> “But he jumped on that saying, ‘Well that’s waste!’ He also asked if we drank tea and when I said ‘yes’ he told me that tea bags were also classed as waste.It was laughable really, I thought he was joking. We take the wrappers and bags back home with us at night.[> [> “But he said we should pay for a licence and save them up for a week and then call them for collection. I showed him the door and he said we’d be getting a £300 fine.”[> [> Mr Hughes, whose company Olympic Scaffolding is based in Bootle, Merseyside, added: “We pay £9,000-a-year in business rates. What for? They won’t even come and empty a bin. It’s so stupid as to be untrue. All we do here is eat a few sarnies. That’s not industrial waste.[>

[> “And the fella who came round was armed with a list of other firms. But we’re the only ones who kicked up a fuss.[> [> “I asked if I could take the waste home to dispose of it, and he said ‘no way’.[> [> “So now I’ll have to pay a company to come out every week to take away a bag of food wrapping. How much will they charge for that £50? £100? It’s madness.[>

[> “We’re often phoning the council about fly-tipping round here. But do they do anything? No, they’re too busy coming after people like me.”[> [> Liverpool City Council’s website states all firms must “keep within the law by having a trade refuse collection agreement with either the council, the council’s contractor or a private contractor authorised to carry waste.”[> [> Last night a spokesman said: “He needs to set up a Trade Waste Agreement for someone to take away his rubbish.[>