Fine for fly-tipper captured on CCTV
A fly-tipper captured on CCTV dumping sacks of rubble and a bag of cement on land near an M1 bridge in St Albans District has been ordered to pay £1,603.
St Albans City and District Council used the CCTV footage to prosecute the man from Hemel Hempstead for fly-tipping.
It showed the 29 year-old depositing waste, taken from a white transit van, on land near the M1 bridge at Hogg End Lane on or about 9 July 2017.
Yesterday, at St Albans Magistrates Court, the man pleaded guilty to the offence of depositing waste without an environmental permit contrary to section 33(1) (a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
After being given credit for his guilty plea, the fly-tipper was fined £640. He was also ordered to pay £150 compensation for the removal of the rubbish, £749 in costs and a £64 victim surcharge, making a total sum of £1,603.
Cllr Frances Leonard, Environmental Portfolio Holder for St Albans City and District Council, said: “Fly-tipping is an anti-social crime that leaves an unsightly blot on the landscape costing the Council thousands to clear each year.
“We will prosecute fly-tippers where we have evidence to do so. As this prosecution demonstrates, we use CCTV cameras to detect offenders. We also inspect fly-tips for evidence to help us trace and prosecute fly-tippers as well as the people whose waste is being dumped.
“Everyone has a legal duty of care to make sure their waste is disposed of properly. To avoid the risk of prosecution, use an authorised waste carrier when arranging one-off collections of waste. Alternatively, residents can take bulky waste to a Household Waste Recycling site or book a special refuse collection through the Council.”
Special refuse collections can be arranged online on the Council’s website or by calling 01727 809019.
The Council is working with local authorities, the police and other agencies through the Hertfordshire Fly Tipping Group to reduce fly-tipping.
Last week the Council staged a fly-tip in the centre of St Albans to raise awareness of the Hertfordshire Fly Tipping Group’s Let’s S.C.R.A.P fly-tipping campaign.
This reminds everyone of their legal duty of care to dispose of waste correctly and asks them to follow the S.C.R.A.P fly-tipping checklist when arranging one-off collections of waste.
The Let’s S.C.R.A.P fly-tipping checklist says:
- Suspect all waste carriers; do not let them take any waste until they have proven themselves to be legitimate.
- Check the waste carrier’s registration details, then verify them by searching the Environment Agency’s website or by calling 03708 506 506.
- Refuse unsolicited offers to have any rubbish taken away.
- Ask what exactly is going to happen to the rubbish and seek evidence that it is going to be disposed of appropriately.
- Paperwork should be obtained, such as a proper invoice, waste transfer note or a receipt for your waste removal. This should describe the waste and provide the waste carrier’s contact details.
Thousands of fly-tipping incidents are reported in Hertfordshire each year, and in 2016/17, cost tax payers over £1 million to clean up and investigate.
Anyone seeing fly-tipping in progress should call 999 immediately as well as report it to their council. To help us trace the offenders, make a note of the vehicle registration number and take photos, if possible, but do not approach the fly-tippers.
Fly-tipped waste found in St Albans District can be reported to St Albans City and District Council by emailing wastemanagementservices@stalbans.gov.uk, calling 01727 809019 or via a MyStAlbans account. More information about the ‘duty of care’ to dispose of waste and fly-tipping is available on our website.
Councillor contact:
Cllr Frances Leonard, Environmental Portfolio Holder for St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 861860, Bus. email: cllr.f.leonard@stalbans.gov.uk
Contact for the media:
Amanda Wilkinson, Senior Communications Officer, St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 819317, E-mail: amanda.wilkinson@stalbans.gov.uk
Notes:
The Let’s S.C.R.A.P fly-tipping campaign is organised by the Hertfordshire Fly Tipping Group, a multi-agency taskforce working to improve how the County responds to fly tipping.
The group includes Borough and District Councils and Hertfordshire County Council. Hertfordshire Constabulary, Hertfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Herts Fire & Rescue, the Environment Agency, the National Farmers Union and Keep Britain Tidy are also members.
The group’s on-going work programme covers improvements in enforcement capability across the county as well as the rollout of new technology to assist in identifying and prosecuting fly tippers.
Photo: Fly-tip on land near the M1 bridge at Hogg End Lane