Residents can receive a fixed-penalty notice if they repeatedly break the rules on rubbish collections Fines for residents who break the rules on rubbish collections in England are to be scrapped, the BBC has learned.Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman is expected to announce next month that the charges will be outlawed in all but the most serious cases of fly-tipping.
Meanwhile, ministers have warned councils against "charging by the back-door" for refuse services.
This includes forcing residents to buy "official" rubbish sacks from the council rather than other suppliers.
'Small minority'At the moment, people can be fined with a fixed-penalty notice if they repeatedly break the rules covering rubbish collections, such as recycling incorrectly or leaving waste out on the wrong day.
But the BBC's political correspondent Laura Kuenssberg said that the government will now remove most of those powers from English town halls.
It follows a promise last year to scrap them.
In another move, Environment Minister Lord Henley and Local Government Minister Bob Neill have written to councils in England after concerns a "small minority" were going beyond their legal powers to charge for refuse collections.
Their letter reminds local authorities they can charge for collecting bulky or garden waste but not regular rubbish.
Councils are also not allowed to impose a call-out fee if rubbish collectors arrive at a property but are unable for some reason to pick up the waste at that time.
Charging by 'backdoor'The ministers said councils must not force residents to buy "official" rubbish sacks from the town hall in places where people had to purchase their own bags, warning that authorities should not create a monopoly.
They wrote: "In short, councils cannot introduce 'backdoor' bin charging for mainstream waste collections or waste disposal.
"Such stealth taxes are not legal and are contrary to the policy direction of the new government."
Ministers are currently passing legislation to get rid of the previous Labour government's policy of offering councils the chance to take part in pilot "pay-as-you-throw" schemes which charge households which create the most rubbish.
Lord Henley and Mr Neill said the government believed such initiatives would encourage fly-tipping and burning in gardens, and impose added costs to families which were already struggling financially.
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