A southeast London householder has been fined £600 after rubbish fly tipped on farmland in Gravesham was traced to their address.
On Wednesday 14 May following a report from a farmer in Harvel of fly tipping on their land, officers from Gravesham Borough Council’s Environmental Enforcement team found items linking the load of mixed household and building waste to an address in the Woolwich area of south-east London.
The homeowners admitted they had paid £150 to a passing waste collector to take the load, had taken no steps to check on the waste carrier’s legitimacy, and received no paperwork for the collection.
They were unable to identify the individual responsible for the fly-tipping.
Householders have a duty of care under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to ensure that any waste is passed to a registered carrier and that they receive a waste transfer receipt for the collection. Failure to do so is a criminal offence.
Cllr Emma Morley, cabinet member for operational services, said: “Fly-tipping blights our rural communities and costs farmers and landowners tens of thousands of pounds to clear.
“In this case the recklessness of a householder, who was willing to pay a passing waste collector a bargain price for collecting their load, has resulted in substantial clear up costs and damage to a valuable crop for the farmer.
“It proved a false economy for them, leaving them with a £600 fine, the maximum allowable under current legislation, which they must pay or face prosecution in court.
“We are determined to support our local farmers and our rural communities in tackling and reducing fly tipping.
“All offences are investigated, and where evidence is available, our environmental enforcement team will take a robust enforcement approach to this criminality.”
Investigations continue in an attempt to find who fly-tipped the waste.
Rubbish and your duty of care
Take environmental crime seriously and will use powers to investigate and prosecute.
Find out about your legal 'duty of care' to make sure what anyone you ask to take away your rubbish, is registered and authorised to do so.
Read about other ways to dispose of your waste safely.
Report fly-tipping in Gravesham online or if you have any information relating to any environmental crime in the borough you can email Tipoff@gravesham.gov.uk