A fly tipper who failed to pay a fixed penalty has been taken to court by Fenland District Council – and they promised three others who also refuse to pay can expect their day in court. It follows a successful conviction of a woman responsible who owned a mound of rubbish bags dumped in Workhouse Drove (off Manea Road), Wimblington, in April last year.
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
A council spokesperson said the woman responsible for the rubbish at Wimblington had employed someone to get rid of it for her.
“It was later found dumped in rural Fenland and she has been given a court conviction and ordered to pay costs,” said a council spokesperson.
Fenland District Council 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 cannot just hand rubbish to anyone to get rid of without questioning what they are 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 will 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.”
The council spokesperson said: “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.”
- For advice on checking the legitimacy of a waste operator see: www.fenland.gov.uk/flytipping#HouseholdersDutyOfCare
- For details of Fenland District Council’s bulky waste collection service for residents see: www.fenland.gov.uk/bulkywaste
- For details of Fenland District Council’s trade / commercial waste and recycling service see: www.fenland.gov.uk/tradewaste
