Two South Gloucestershire residents have been found guilty of committing waste related offences following the work of our environmental protection team.
Charmaine Whereatt, 36, of Hillside Road, Kingswood, was ordered to pay a total of £752 after pleading guilty to fly-tipping 10 bags of household waste at Court Farm Road, Longwell Green, in January last year.
The court heard that evidence was found within the fly-tipped waste identifying Whereatt and an address in Bourne Close, Kingswood. Council officers later spoke to the defendant on the doorstep of this address and she admitted to carrying out the fly-tipping. She was invited to further interviews with Council officers, but failed to attend.
Whereatt was fined £320, with £400 costs and a victim surcharge of £32, totalling £752.
Meanwhile, Geoffrey Ferris, 35, of Orchard Close, Yate, was ordered to pay a total of £1,485.09 after being found guilty of fly-tipping in Hackett Lane, near Thornbury, and in Hoovers Lane, near Iron Acton, between March and May last year. He was also guilty of the offence of carrying waste without being a registered carrier.
The court heard the two fly-tips, consisting of various household waste, were in rural lanes and evidence was found relating to an address in Cromhall, and one in Yate. Enquiries made by our environmental protection team identified the waste had been removed by Ferris as business transactions. When Ferris was interviewed by Council officers, he admitted to the two fly-tipping incidents and that he did not a hold waste carriers licence.
Ferris was fined £400 for each fly-tip, £200 for the other offence, plus £485.09 costs, totalling £1,485.09.
Both cases was heard at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 19 December.
Rather than directly issuing fly-tipping Fixed Penalty Notices, which is one tool that can be used by local authorities in some circumstances to combat fly-tipping, South Gloucestershire Council adopts a different approach to tackle the problem. Our environmental protection team co-ordinates education and enforcement action, gathering evidence to pursue offenders through the courts.
South Gloucestershire Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Tourism Cllr Paul Hughes said: “These are two different examples that again highlight why there is no excuse for this type of behaviour. Fly-tipping is an issue that affects our communities and local environment and this activity will not be tolerated in South Gloucestershire. Waste crime puts the environment at risk and anyone found to be fly-tipping in South Gloucestershire will be prosecuted. Residents also have a duty of care to ensure that they only give their waste to registered waste carriers.
“Statistics show that anyone fly-tipping in South Gloucestershire is five times more likely* to be successfully prosecuted than anywhere else in the country and our award-winning envirocrime team have a 100 per cent record of securing successful prosecutions for this type of offence.”
Residents and businesses are advised to only give their rubbish to an Environment Agency registered waste carrier.
Contractors should ensure that they hold a Registered Waste Carriers Licence and they comply with the Waste Transfer Note requirements.
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/index
• Ask for a registered trading address and contact telephone number for the trader and get a receipt
• Unwanted goods and household or garden waste can all be disposed of at no cost via the Council’s Sort It centres.
Residents who see illegal fly-tipping are encouraged to report it by using our web form at www.southglos.gov.uk/flytipping or emailing streetcare@southglos.gov.uk or contacting the Street Care helpdesk on 01454 868000.
