(Uk) Can Recycling Centre (Tips) Workers Demand To See Inside Of Bags?!

[Jackrabbit82]

We took a trip to our local 'tip' today and had a really crappy experience.
My mother in law who has just come out of hospital and is staying with us. She is still using catheter bags after her op and will do for a month or two. She needs them changed daily along with her Incontinent pads.
We pulled up (My mother in law was with us) and started emptying the cardboard and paper first.
When it came to the black bags (Which contained the pads and bags) we started heading to the non recycling part when one of the workers came up and asked "Whats in the black bags sir". I explained and he said "That doesn't look like Incontinence pads. Theres a sharp edge poking out (it was a corner of a catheter bag) I'll need to see inside"... I asked if there was any need as my MiL was sat 3ft away and it was embarrassing for her. He started to become pretty angry and said "I don't care!" I then refused and once again explained that my mother in law was sat in the car watching and she is very embarrassed about using them. He stood right in front of the "non recycling bin" and spread out his arms and started saying in a loud voice "I NEED TO SEE INSIDE THE BAG SIR! I CAN FINE YOU IF YOU DON'T".
He grabbed the one bag off me and then started putting his hands in the bag sorting through the nappy sacks full of pads and Incontinent bags. I was about to grab the bag back but thought better of it and tried not to make this more of a scene than it was already.
He then huffed and said "That wasn't hard was it? We have a right to sort through every one of your bags if we want. Show us next time or we will refuse entry in the future" and stormed off.

Is this *** normal?!?!?! I haven't been to a centre for about 5 years but that never happened before. Surely this isn't normal behavior?

Additional:
The local incontinence team have arranged local pick up of the bags/pads from our house but it doesn't start till August so this will be a one off.

[Jackrabbit82]

p.s I understand it's their job to help ppl sort recycling but surely to this extent is bizarre?!

[bhg481]

Some things are chargeable, so they're entitled to check that you're not smuggling something in a black bag that you should be charged for.

[barry1010]

Yes, I often have my bagged waste checked before I am allowed to put it in the recycling skips. I don't know how the staff would react if I refused to let them.
You could complain to your council if you found it unacceptable.

[William51]

The recycling centre operator had a right to check the contents of the bags but he was out of order because of his terse and rude attitude. They are just as strict at my local centre, but luckily no one like that.

[wolf63]

Before you make a complaint you should think about the situation. Did your interaction or refusal to comply with his request make the situation worse?

[barry1010]

I've thought a bit more about this - had you not told him that the incontinence pads were your mothers-in-law's he would not have known. The workers have seen them before, and worse, and wouldn't have thought anything of it.

Every council has it's own rules and polices about what can't be disposed of at their tips (carpets and engine parts at mine) and it's their job to make sure the rules are adhered to.

[douglas9401]

Unless one was trying to dispose of body parts why would one not just do as they were asked then get on with their life?

[1ozzy]

Doug, really?

[douglas9401]

[Peter Pedant]

from your question, it looks as tho they can
and also refuse your er refuse

Having been froo colostomy bags, if it were demanded 'I show', I wd be happy to, in a lurid fashion and many wishes that their own relations werent interrogated....

actually ours - reliance st - are very helpful

I DID dump incontinence pads at a railway station once ( I was travelling) and that, ironically because my brother at his home was whining about the bother they caused....( travelling after an unwelcome stay, not to be repeated)

[Peter Pedant]

o god stop being so anal abou this Abers!

fines for the "wrong dustbin" because the dustbin men cdnt read. That was why they were dustbin men ..... On one visit I pointed out to my co-dumper:
Look! look!
wha' he said ( obvious AB poster)
There is a tractor back there, pulling all four compartmented rubbish into one. 80% of recycled stuff..... isnt

just cool it baby

[Peter Pedant]

fines for wrong dustbin were abandoned as the men cdnt.....

[Old_Geezer]

So, the moral of the story is, don't take them to the recycling centre. (Fly tip them on the council steps instead ?)

[evadora]

My Local recycling centre has a large table by the black bag area and EVERY bag bag is examined. I took a black bag there recently and the man in front had batteries and dog poo in his!! There is a large dog poo bin in the centre and also a place for batteries. They are very strict, perhaps that is why Wales has the best recycling stats in the UK. I have never had a problem with the staff, they are alway polite - even when pointing out black bag mistakes.