Cambridge student summoned to court after dumping box next to a bin

A University of Cambridge postgraduate student has been summoned to court after dumping a box next to a bin instead of inside it. 

Mingyuan Zhou took to social media to complain about the action taken by South Cambridgeshire Council, claiming “the only reason we left it next to the bin was because the box was too big to fit inside” and “the bin was already full that day”. 

Zhou said he was informed by a council letter that “fly-tipping is a criminal offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Section 33”. 

In a video circulated on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, Zhou questioned the relevance of this law. His argument, originally made in Chinese, has been translated to: “You expect people today to know a law from 1990? Who the hell is reading Section 33 of your 1990 Act? I’m seriously losing it.” 

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He went on to criticise the UK government and Britain in general, arguing: “British people seriously have nothing better to do”, adding, “The UK government must be so broke that they have to generate revenue from stuff like this. They’ve got no other way to make money, so they resort to this?”.

“These Brits are just bored out of their minds. Look at this—they wrote two whole pages of formal documents just to accuse us of littering”, he continued. 

Speaking on how he will respond to the summons, the international student claimed he will “play the ‘huge cultural difference’ card”, explaining that “In China, people actually leave cardboard boxes or recyclables next to the bin because sanitation workers will collect them to sell for scrap”.

A spokesperson for Greater Cambridge Shared Waste, a partnership between Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “All councils operate under the same national laws, meaning anyone who fails to dispose of their rubbish correctly can face a fine.

“Leaving waste beside a bin exposes it to wind and weather, causing litter to scatter and making our streets look untidy. We urge everyone to learn from this case and do their part by placing waste inside bins – not next to them – to help keep our streets clean.”

The University of Cambridge and the UK government have been contacted for comment. 

Featured image credit via Xiaohongshu and Wikimedia Commons.

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