Conviction for woman whose rubbish was dumped in the countryside
A householder who employed someone to get rid of rubbish for her which was later found dumped in rural Fenland has been given a court conviction and ordered to pay costs.
And Fenland District Council has warned other residents and business owners not to make the same mistake.
Cllr Peter Murphy, Fenland District Council's portfolio holder for refuse and cleansing, said: "People must be aware that they can't just hand rubbish to anyone to get rid of without questioning what they're going to do with it.
"Your waste is your responsibility, and you must make basic checks on the legitimacy of waste operators because if your rubbish is illegally dumped and we trace it back to you, you'll be liable for a penalty too.
"Fly-tipping is a blight on the local environment, a danger to public health and a hazard to wildlife and we do everything we can to stamp it out.
"Fenland District Council provides bulky waste collection services to ensure all our residents and businesses have a reliable option. We also provide lots of advice on how to ensure a waste carrier is legitimate or dispose of rubbish in other ways."
Fixed penalty of £600
Elevated fixed penalty rates were recently agreed in Fenland, which mean anyone who fails to carry out reasonable checks to ensure their rubbish is properly disposed of could face a fixed penalty of £600.
Fly-tippers could face fixed penalties of up to £1,000 or, in more serious cases, much more and even a prison sentence.
Efforts are always made to trace those responsible for fly-tipping and for fly-tipped waste.
The most recent court conviction came at the end of last year relating to a mound of rubbish bags dumped in Workhouse Drove (off Manea Road), Wimblington, in April. Fenland District Council tracked down the woman whose waste it was and when she failed to pay the fixed penalty she was taken to court and given a conditional discharge as well as an order to pay costs.
The district council is expecting to imminently bring three similar unpaid fixed penalty notice cases to court.
- For advice on checking the legitimacy of a waste operator see: Fly-tipping
- For details of Fenland District Council's bulky waste collection service for residents see: Bulky Waste Collection
- For details of Fenland District Council's trade / commercial waste and recycling service see: Trade Commercial Waste and Recycling
Keep up-to-date with Fenland District Council via Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn and our newsletter The Fenlander Newsletter.
January 2025
Share this page
