He claimed to have paid someone to take it away
The fly-tipped waste
A Bristol fly-tipper has been fined nearly £1,000 after his sofa and household waste were dumped on a popular footpath. Ronald Shaw appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ Court after being prosecuted by South Gloucestershire Council.
He was found guilty of failing his householder duty of care regarding waste, and handed a £120 fine, ordered to pay costs of £770 and a victim surcharge of £48, making a total of £938.
The court heard that on April 5 this year, a fly-tip was discovered at the end of Coldharbour Farm Lane in Wick, South Gloucestershire, at the point where the lane becomes a bridleway, a scenic rural area enjoyed by ramblers and horse riders. The path was completely by a dumped sofa, soft furnishings, plastics and numerous black bags of household waste.
Correspondence featuring Shaw’s name was found amongst the waste and the council’s environmental enforcement officers contacted him.
Shaw claimed that he had paid cold callers £80 cash to take a sofa and a few bags of household waste away from his home address. He was afforded an opportunity to confirm who had collected his waste as he believed that a van he had seen advertised for sale on Facebook was used by the offenders. He failed to provide any details to this effect.
Shaw, of Worrell Road, Frenchay, was interviewed under caution on Yate on June 25, where he admitted to failing in his householder duty of care by not checking that he was handing his waste over to a licensed waste carrier and not taking steps to obtain a receipt, nor record any details of the waste carrier and their vehicle.
Councillor Sean Rhodes, cabinet member responsible for environmental enforcement at South Gloucestershire Council, said: “We all have a responsibility to dispose of our waste in a responsible manner and that includes when dealing with third party waste collectors.
“There are a number of legitimate options for waste removal, including the council’s large household waste collection service. If you hire a third-party to dispose of your waste, always ask for a copy of the company’s waste carrier registration certificate, make a note of their details and ask where the waste is being taken.
“Prosecutions like these protect our environment and create cleaner and safer places for our communities. These are key priorities of the Liberal Democrat/ Labour partnership.”
Residents and businesses are advised to only give their rubbish to an Environment Agency registered waste carrier.
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 AgencyCheck whether the waste carrier is registered by calling the Environment Agency on 08708 506506 or by checking on their website 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