South Gloucestershire Council

Published: 18/11/2015

Two more illegal fly tippers have been prosecuted for waste related offences in South Gloucestershire.

A Kingswood man has been ordered to pay £1,922 in fines and costs after admitting fly tipping waste in Manor Road, Mangotsfield, South Gloucestershire.

Richard Holly, 33, of Church Road in Kingswood appeared before Yate Magistrates’ Court on Friday 13 November. He pleaded guilty to not having a Waste Transfer Note or a Registered Waste Carriers Licence to transport the waste and was fined £480, with a victim surcharge of £48 and costs of £1,394.

The court heard that a Downend resident had contacted Holly to remove household waste and take it to the Sort It centre at Mangotsfield, and he agreed to remove the resident’s waste for £40. Holly denied the offence of fly tipping, claiming that he had transferred the waste to another person and paid him £20 to take it away, and that it was this other person who had dumped the waste in Manor Road.
In another case a Downend man was prosecuted for fly tipping waste in Bitton.

John Hope Smith, 21, of Oaktree Close in Downend also appeared at the same court on Friday 13 November. Smith was ordered to pay a total of £1,812 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to fly tipping a wheelie bin, plastics including industrial cleaning equipment, and other household waste at Fieldgrove Lane in Bitton.

South Gloucestershire Council’s Communities Committee Chair Cllr Heather Goddard said: “These latest successful prosecutions bring the total number of prosecutions for fly tipping and related environmental offences this year up to 13. This continues our zero tolerance policy regarding fly tipping and serves as another reminder that if you are involved in the illegal dumping of waste in South Gloucestershire, you will be prosecuted. Residents are advised to only give their rubbish to an Environment Agency registered waste carrier or they could be held liable if waste is subsequently fly tipped.

“You can 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 Agency.
• Check 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.”

Unwanted goods and household or garden waste can all be disposed of at no cost via the council’s Sort IT!* centres.

Residents who see illegal fly tipping are encouraged to report it using www.southglos.gov.uk/flytipping