A man has been fined after fly-tipping waste – including a child’s tricycle and Christmas decorations – on a rural footpath near Hitchin.
Ryan Smyth dumped the assortment of household waste including a wicker picnic basket, suitcase and pieces of MDF, as well as the child’s tricycle and Christmas decorations on a public footpath between Charlton and Offley.
The rubbish was traced back to a household in Bedfordshire who had used Mr Smyth – of Cutlers Green in Luton – to remove their waste.
He pleaded guilty to the offence on Friday at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court and was fined £200, had to pay a victim surcharge of £30 and North Herts District Council’s costs of £600 – a total of £830.
The same day in court, Justin Whelan – of Cardiff Place in Bassingbourn, South Cambs – pleaded guilty to failing in his duty of care to dispose of waste appropriately and was fined £500.
He also had to pay a victim surcharge of £50 and North Herts District Council’s costs of £579.03, a total of £1,129.03.
Whelan paid a person to dispose of six bags of domestic household waste without checking if they were a licenced waste carrier, and the bags were illegally fly-tipped in shopping trolleys at the Royston Tesco in Old North Road.
Councillor Bernard Lovewell, the district council’s executive member for housing and environmental health, said: “Fly-tipping is a serious problem. It is not only a blight on our landscape but is potentially hazardous to local people and wildlife.
“We are very pleased with these verdicts and hope it will serve as a deterrent to any would-be fly tippers. We also urge residents to always check that those offering waste carrier services have an appropriate licence to dispose of waste.”
If you are looking to dispose of waste NHDC advises you to ask the waste carrier to provide you with their full address and telephone number and ask to see their waste carrier licence issued by the Environment Agency.
Contact the Environment Agency directly on 08708 506 506 and ask for a free instant waste carrier validation check, or you can check on the Environment Agency website at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency.
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