Salford City Council has taken steps to ensure that food waste bags provided free to residents cannot be stolen, after former bin man Paul Strickland was sentenced on Wednesday (9 September).
Strickland, 30, was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay a £80 victim surcharge after being found guilty of stealing 1.5 million bags between December 2014 and May 2015.
As part of the council’s recycling scheme, biodegradable food waste bags to be used in caddies are provided to residents free-of-charge. Replacement rolls of the bags are left by bin men during food waste collections.
Manchester Crown Court heard that Strickland had made £11,730 over the six-month period from selling 8,225 rolls of the bags on eBay.
He will face a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing in February, which will establish what compensation he will have to pay to recover his profits.
Logo to be used to prevent reoccurrence
Salford claims to be one of the only councils in the UK to supply free food waste bags to residents. The council estimates that Strickland’s theft cost it £5,551 in lost bags.
The council has now announced that it will print the Salford City Council logo on all waste bags to prevent the fraudulent offence from reoccurring.
Strickland, who had 15 previous convictions including a two year prison sentence for burglary, did not have to disclose his criminal record when applying for a job at the city’s refuse depot in August 2008.
A spokesman for the council said that all job applicants are expected to declare any unspent criminal convictions on their application form.
Strickland was caught when a whistleblower tipped off the council, and a subsequent investigation by its internal audit team found the listing online.
The spokesman added: “All council staff are expected to respect the position of trust they are placed in. Mr Strickland did not do that and has paid the penalty. We are grateful to the whistleblower who did the right thing by speaking out and enabling us and the police to investigate and end this fraud.”
Find out more about recycling in Salford.
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