Douglas City Council has apologised after telling home-based childminders they could face extra charges for waste collection.

Letters sent by the council said rubbish from childcare businesses counts as commercial waste and isn’t covered by household rates.

It also warned that such waste couldn’t be placed in standard domestic bins.

The letters prompted immediate backlash from a number of angry recipient recipients, many of whom took to social media to criticise what they described as ‘mindless bureaucracy’.

However, in a statement issued on Tuesday, the council admitted the letter had been out sent in error.

A spokesperson said: ‘Due to an administrative error, a letter issued in response to a general enquiry was inadvertently sent to a number of registered childminders.

‘We are contacting the affected recipients today to apologise for the mistake.

‘Douglas City Council remains committed to supporting residents and businesses with all aspects of waste management, including the collection and disposal of both domestic and commercial waste.’

Despite the apology, the incident has left many childminders frustrated and confused.

Several questioned how they could reasonably be expected to separate household rubbish from waste generated during childcare.

One wrote online: ‘Are they going to employ someone to go through our bins and count the nappies? It’s utterly ridiculous.’

Another said the letter felt like an attack on people trying to provide essential services from home: ‘It’s like they don’t want us to work.’

The original letter argued that because registered childminders are running a business from a domestic address, any waste associated with that business must be handled as commercial.

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