Mom wins rubbish case

2006-07-11 13:03

London - A mild-mannered mother-of-three in southwest England was on Monday cleared of putting the wrong sort of rubbish into her recycling bin.

Donna Challice, 31, was the first person in England and Wales to be prosecuted for allegedly putting non-recyclable waste into a green "wheelie bin" at her home in Exeter city.

Magistrates cleared her on all six counts of violating the Environmental Protection Act between November 2005 and February 2006, which requires householders to sort their garbage properly.

Challice had denied putting non-recyclables - including left-over takeaways, cigarette ends, bicycle parts and the contents of a vacuum cleaner - into the dedicated recycling bin provided by Exeter city council.

"We feel that the prosecution has not proved their case beyond reasonable doubt, as they have been unable to prove that she was responsible for the contamination in the green bins," judge Frances Eastmond said.

Challice left court without speaking to reporters, but her lawyer Mark Shell said she was "delighted ... very overwhelmed" and happy to put the case - which garnered nationwide publicity - behind her".

- AFP