A Chippenham man has been ordered to pay a total of £1,709 in fines and costs after South Gloucestershire Council prosecuted him for waste offences following the discovery of a fly-tip.
Baban Ghafoor, 29, of Market Place, Chippenham in Wiltshire failed to appear at Bristol Magistrates Court on Monday 8 January, where he was found guilty in his absence of waste duty of care offences. He was ordered to pay a fine of £660, along with £785 in costs and a £264 victim surcharge, making a total of £1,709.
The court heard that on 22 November 2022 a pile of cardboard and packaging was discovered on a verge at Church Road, Rudgeway, South Gloucestershire and was reported to South Gloucestershire Council.
Council operatives cleared the fly-tip the following day and took a series of photographs including a picture of a delivery label for an address at Market Place, Chippenham. The council’s environmental enforcement officers visited the address, a gentleman’s hairdressers, on 1 December, where they spoke to Baban Ghafoor. He was shown photos of the fly-tip and identified the waste as coming from his business address stating that he had paid £150 to a man to take away his waste.
Ghafoor was cautioned and asked for an explanation. He explained that the male was a customer and the subject about waste removal came up and the man offered to take his waste away. The man arrived at the Market Place address later that evening where the waste was loaded on to the back of a white coloured flatbed vehicle. He was paid £150 in cash and no receipt was given.
Ghafoor was unable to supply any contact details for the man or the registration of the vehicle used to remove the waste. He was informed that he would be reported for summons.
Councillor Leigh Ingham, cabinet member responsible for environmental enforcement at South Gloucestershire Council, said: “This latest prosecution should act as a deterrent to anyone who fails in their duty of care for waste disposal. South Gloucestershire Council always pursues fly-tip related prosecutions through the courts and our award-winning environmental enforcement team has a 100 per cent record of securing successful prosecutions for this type of offence.
“We all have a responsibility to ensure that our waste is disposed of in a responsible and lawful manner. If you hire a third-party to take away your waste, always ask for a copy of the company’s waste carrier registration certificate and ask where the waste is being taken, or you could be found liable and face a considerable fine.”
Residents and businesses are advised to only give their rubbish to an Environment Agency registered waste carrier.
You can carry out these simple steps to make sure your waste is disposed of legally:
- Ask for a copy of the company’s waste carrier registration certificate and ask where the waste is being taken. Legitimate firms will be happy to provide this information.
- Do not be tempted to use people offering cheap waste clearance on sites such as Facebook and Gumtree unless you have confirmed that they are registered with the Environment Agency
- Check whether the waste carrier is registered by calling the Environment Agency on 08708 506506 or by checking on their website https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers
- Ask for a registered trading address and contact telephone number for the trader and get a receipt.
Household waste can be taken to the council’s Sort It recycling centres where it can be disposed of at no cost www.southglos.gov.uk/sortitcentres
Residents who see illegal fly-tipping are encouraged to report it by contacting the council’s StreetCare helpdesk on 01454 868000, emailing streetcare@southglos.gov.uk or visiting www.southglos.gov.uk/flytipping
