A man from Yate has been ordered to pay a total of £858 in fines and costs after being prosecuted for waste related offences following the discovery of a fly-tip in Yate, South Gloucestershire.
Mitchell Palmer, 34, of Windsor Drive in Yate, was prosecuted by South Gloucestershire Council’s Environmental Enforcement Team after a local resident observed him dumping a number of black bags of household waste in a layby at Bury Hill in Yate in February 2021.
The resident challenged Palmer for dumping the waste and then proceeded to take photographs of him and the black bags on his mobile phone. These photos were sent to the Envirocrime Enforcement Team and their enquiries led them to Palmer’s address in Yate, where he was served with a notice to attend a voluntary interview at the Council’s offices.
Palmer was subsequently formally interviewed under caution where he fully admitted the offence of fly-tipping at Bury Hill, stating that it was an accumulation of household waste from an address he had been sharing with his now ex-girlfriend. He claimed that he’d attempted a visit to his local Sort It recycling centre that morning but found the queue too long and was not prepared to wait. He then drove to Bury Hill Lane, Yate where he discarded the bags in the layby. Palmer admitted that he knew his actions were unlawful and said he was remorseful for his behaviour.
Pleading guilty to fly-tipping at Bristol Magistrates Court on 13 December, Palmer was fined £320 and ordered to pay £504 in costs and a £34 victim surcharge.
Cabinet Member for Communities and Local Place, Cllr Rachael Hunt said: “There is no excuse for fly-tipping, it has a negative impact on our communities and local environment, and we all have a responsibility to make sure that our waste is disposed of in the appropriate manner.
“In this case, having some patience at the local recycling centre would have meant this waste was disposed of lawfully. It’s plain laziness to dump rubbish in this way and expect others to clear the mess left behind.
“We have a 100 per cent success rate for securing convictions for this type of offence. We will pursue anyone who dumps their waste illegally through the courts and our zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping in South Gloucestershire means that anyone who fly-tips here is up to five times more likely to be prosecuted than anywhere else in the country.
“We hope these prosecutions serve as a warning to anyone else who considers fly-tipping in South Gloucestershire.”
Unwanted goods and household or garden waste can all be disposed of at no cost via the council’s Sort IT! * Centres https://beta.southglos.gov.uk/recycling-centres
Residents who see illegal fly tipping are encouraged to report it by contacting the StreetCare helpdesk on 01454 868000, emailing streetcare@southglos.gov.uk or visiting www.southglos.gov.uk/flytipping
