Quote :

" A company boss faces a £300 fine – for failing to declare his sandwich wrapper as “industrial waste”. 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.“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’."

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/67245/Boss-faces-fine-for-wrapping-his-lunch-without-a-licence

Oh those crazy Brits. Fining their citizens and forcing them to pay for a service to pick up their trash instead of just taking it home. What will they think of next?

10/22/2008 1:16:00 PM

did this really need a thread?

10/22/2008 1:16:53 PM

nope

10/22/2008 1:30:38 PM

I thought it was a good example of how utterly ridiculous the Nanny State is. I wouldn't be surprised if this type of thing happens in the US in the next 20 years.

10/22/2008 1:33:38 PM

whatever.
An overactive inspector doesn't exactly = a Nanny State. This is about on par with the "my homeowners association is fining me for putting purple flamingos in my yard" threads that come weekly.

If you want real examples of where GB is fucking up, just focus on the video cameras and street surveillance.

10/22/2008 1:50:41 PM

Would you say they need more cameras?

10/22/2008 1:54:13 PM

sounds like hes saying the opposite of that

10/22/2008 2:01:11 PM

^

10/22/2008 2:13:37 PM