Although the authority already has the power to punish "bin contraventions" with £100 fixed penalty notices, the legislation is rarely used because the council does not have an enforcement policy.

That is set to change after cabinet member for the environment councillor Wayne Fitzgerald asked the council's cross-party Waste Working Group to draw up a list of what could be defined as improper wheelie bin use.

Offences worthy of a fixed penalty notice could include leaving wheelie bins lid ajar, putting out a bin the evening before collection, leaving the bin in the wrong place or putting plastic bags alongside the bin.

What do you think? Is it fair to fine people who overfill their bin?
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Read ET comment: Bin brother could be watching you
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Other local authorities have used enforcement powers ruthlessly, with Gareth Corkhill, a Cardiff bus driver, given a criminal conviction after being taken to court when he refused to pay a £110 on-the-spot fine by council inspectors who found the lid of his wheelie bin open by four inches.

However, Cllr Fitzgerald said fines would be a "last resort" against people who persistently ignore advice about disposing of their rubbish.

He said: "Disregard for the environment is not acceptable in our society and we would not look kindly on people who continually flout the rules.

"The legislation exists, but in Peterborough there is no written down policy which says when we would enact that legislation."

Cllr Fitzgerald said that at the moment council officers carry out "ad-hoc education and prosecution", and that "there is no policy that says we would prosecute someone for putting the wrong thing in their bin, for example".

He added: "The council, like other local authorities, can be seen as Big Brother or heavy handed, and we don't want people to think we are interfering in their lives, so action would be a last resort."

Council spokesman Mike Lennox said in cases where people persistently ignore advice about the proper use of household bins, the authority has the power to issue a £100 fixed penalty notice (reduced to £60 if paid within 21 days).

The council has only used legislation to take action against a nuisance bin-user on one occasion since the introduction of the laws.

In July 2007, Elaine Briggs, of Meadenvale, Parnwell, was fined £150 and ordered to pay costs of £600 after the council recorded a catalogue of broken environmental laws.

Comment: Page 12