A Northfleet man who failed to pay a £400 fixed penalty notice for a fly tipping incident, has been ordered to pay £2,368 in fines and costs by magistrates.
In November 2022, officers from Gravesham Borough Council’s Environmental Enforcement team found fly tipped waste in Edwin Street, Gravesend, consisting of household waste and furniture and which had come from a nearby property.
Investigating officers identified Jan Balog, 38, of Northfleet and another male as being responsible.
Balog was issued with a £400 Fixed Penalty Notice for fly tipping, but failed to pay the fine and was prosecuted for the offence at court.
After he failed to attend a court hearing, a warrant was issued, and he was arrested by Kent Police.
Balog appeared before Sevenoaks magistrates on 5 October, who noted his failure to cooperate with investigating officers and told him fly tipping was a terrible blight on our country.
Balog was fined £1,430, required to pay a victim surcharge of £572, and ordered to pay £366 in costs and compensation.
A second man is due to appear in court at a later date in connection with the same incident.
Welcoming the court’s decision, Cllr Shane Mochrie-Cox, Gravesham Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Strategic Environment, said: “This should serve as a warning to anyone who receives a fixed penalty notice from us not to ignore it in the hope we will just go away – we won’t.
“We do not tolerate fly tipping and where we have evidence pointing to those who have committed offences, we will pursue them to ensure justice is seen to be done for the vast majority of our community who abhor these offences just as much as we do.
“If you choose not to pay a fixed penalty notice, you risk a far higher fine and additional costs when we pursue court action.”
From the end of October and following a change in national legislation, Gravesham Borough Council is increasing its fines for littering and fly tipping to £500 and £1,000 respectively.
Householders failing in their duty of care to ensure anyone removing waste on their behalf is disposing of it responsibly will face fines of £600 where the contents of fly tips are traced back to them.
Cllr Mochrie-Cox added: “While we welcome the change in our powers allowing us to impose these harsher penalties, we will continue to lobby government to go even further.
“We believe the penalties we can impose on offenders should at the very least cover the cost of clearing and disposing of the rubbish they leave behind. The council taxpayer should not have to foot the bill for these environmental crimes.”