Britons: New Trash Laws Are Rubbish

In the midst of a garbage overload, the UK is cracking down on trash with strict new rules, sparking a backlash among Britons, the New York Times reports. Many areas now pick up trash only biweekly, and accept only regulation amounts. Some reject recycling bins tainted with garbage. In response, some Britons are yelling at trash collectors, stealing neighbors’ bins—and burning their rubbish.

At collection time, “It’s like something out of Mad Max," one man told the Guardian. “Every man for himself, scavenging for an extra bin.” But authorities say such measures are necessary as landfills overflow. “You start off by asking them ‘please,’” said one official. “But if they don’t respond, you have to move along the scale that has carrots on one end and sticks on the other.” (More Britain stories.)