A MOTHER has been fined £600 and threatened with jail or a further fine for putting a cardboard box into the wrong recycling bin.

Alison Mapletoft was handed the fine by 3GS, a private company contracted by Brighton and Hove City Council, stating she must pay £300 for putting business waste into a communal recycling bin and £300 for having no waste disposal plan.

The 39-year-old, from Hove, who runs a small business from home making scarves and cushions, was told she could be fined £2,500 or face jail if she did not pay the fine.

Mrs Mapletoft told a national newspaper: “The whole experience was extremely distressing for my whole family and my daughter was so upset because she thought Mummy may be spending Christmas behind bars in prison.

“‘The fines came completely out of the blue and I had no idea what I had done wrong.

“It simply said I had put a cardboard box in a communal recycling bin instead of having it taken away.

“The letter was difficult to understand and threatened me with court action unless I complied.

“Given that I had wrongly disposed of just one cardboard box, the £600 fine was totally disproportionate.”

The mother of two had a cardboard box filled with cushions delivered to her business address, which her husband put in the recycling bin. Mrs Mapletoft admits the box was accidentally put into the recycling bin.

However, she does not agree with the tactics used by 3GS and said she was not aware that a contract was needed to dispose of recycling used by her business.

She was so worried by the threat of a heavier fine and a possible prison sentence that she decided to pay the fines.

Enforcement officers had snooped through the recycling bin looking for business waste that was wrongly disposed of.

When The Argus contacted 3GS last week after similar complaints from residents about fines, a spokesman said it doesn’t have an official appeals process.

The spokesman said: “If you have a business and a business premises and take your business packaging home and throw it into your domestic bin, that is an offence under criminal law.”

A council spokesman said it works with 3GS to ensure fines are issued fairly and correctly.

He said: “Businesses, including those operating from home or mobile traders, are required by law to dispose of their own recycling and refuse as it is business waste.”