Former Wiltshire resident fined over fly tipping incident
Wiltshire Council issue warning about giving your waste to rogue traders
A woman who used to live in Wiltshire has been landed with a £400 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) after failing to check if the person she'd paid £50 to was licensed to take away her rubbish.
The rubbish she had got rid of was subsequently found fly tipped at Windmill Hill Plantation, Ludgershall.
FLY TIPPING ROGUE TRADER
The Council couldn't trace the person(s) responsible for dumping the waste because the resident failed to comply with their legal duty of care and was unable to provide any information that could have identified the fly-tipper.
According to Wiltshire Council, if the resident had checked the waste carriers license details correctly with the Environment Agency, provided details about the collectors and vehicle registration/description, this would have meant Enforcement Officers could trace the offender, and the resident wouldn't have got a Fixed Penalty Notice.
FLY TIPPING PUNISHMENT
The Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) is set at £400 but reduced to £200 if paid within 10 days. Once a fixed penalty is issued, the recipients cannot be named as it's not a conviction in court.
Wiltshire Council's Environmental Enforcement team are processing many investigations currently and further formal actions will be conducted, including prosecutions in court. Recently, the council has also exercised new powers in seizing vehicles involved in fly-tipping with two such offenders vehicles in storage awaiting destruction.
Mark McClelland, Cabinet Member for Waste said:
"It is the responsibility of householders to ensure they check and write down the waste carriers license details of anyone who you pay to take waste away. It is also vital that people take down key information on those removing their waste. If they don't their waste may become fly-tipped and then they could be issued a fixed penalty.
"We desperately want to trace and prosecute the person(s) responsible for dumping rubbish, but we can only trace the fly tippers when residents comply with their duty of care by doing these checks and retaining the information."
"People should be wary about using a 'man with a van' or similar adverts on social media to dispose of waste. Many state they are licensed and are responsible but aren't and simply take the cash and dump the waste."
In a separate case, a Swindon man has been issued with fixed penalties totalling £700 for fly tipping waste in Broad Hinton, Wiltshire.
Environmental Enforcement Officers traced the waste back to another Swindon resident, who assisted the council in identifying the fly tipper after being duped from a social media advert for waste clearance. Officers investigated and conducted a detailed investigation in partnership with Wiltshire Police.
Mark McClelland, Cabinet Member for Waste said:
"We are committed to increasing resources to crackdown on waste crimes like fly-tipping and littering. We've had success in prosecutions, but we will do more and stop people like this spoiling our beautiful countryside".
REPORTING INCIDENTS
You can report fly tipping online here: www.wiltshire.gov.uk/mywiltshire-online-reporting, or by calling 0300 456 0100
CHECK LIST FOR WASTE REMOVAL
Households and businesses have a 'duty of care' under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to ensure that their waste is transferred only to authorised persons. To prevent waste being fly-tipped you need to:
- Check that the person you pass waste to is an authorised carrier here: environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers or by calling the Environment Agency on 03708 506506
- Check that the person who is taking your waste has an upper tier waste carriers license to take waste, and if also scrap metal, a valid scrap metal licence issued by Wiltshire Council
- Note the registration number of any vehicle taking the waste away and also descriptions of the individuals removing the waste
- Ask for a receipt detailing where the waste is going, information about the transportation vehicle and the carrier's authorisation number. This is a legal obligation for businesses, but householders are also advised to request this information
- Take your own household waste to a Household Recycling Centre