Two women fined £400 each after rubbish ends up fly-tipped by river and in car park
Two people have been fined £400 each after paying unlicensed waste collectors to take away rubbish which was later fly-tipped.
Sandwell Council made the move as part of a crackdown on the issue in the borough as it called on people to only used licensed waste collectors.
Anyone paying someone to dispose of any waste must ensure they use a reputable business with a waste carriers licence and have documentation.
One woman was fined £400 after paying someone £20 to take wood and other items away which ended up near the River Tame in Tame Road, Tipton.
She was traced through paperwork left at the scene and issued with a fixed penalty notice – as was another woman whose waste was fly-tipped.
The other woman said she paid a friend £50 to take away the rubbish, but it was found dumped in a car park in Beechcroft Road, Cradley Heath.
She was also fined £400 – with the two women making up part of the 27 fines issued by the Sandwell Council since April last year over the issue.
Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for environment Councillor Ahmad Bostan said: “In Sandwell, we won’t tolerate fly-tipping. Holding people to account when they don’t use a properly licensed waste carrier is one of the ways we’re tackling the issue.
"If you use someone dodgy to take away your rubbish, you are risking a large fine. If a householder fails to comply with their responsibilities, it will cost them. So please, before you pay someone to take away rubbish, make sure they have a proper licence."
Householders are responsible for making sure the person who collects their waste is a licensed waste carrier – and must also retain documents from the waste carrier which states the waste carrier’s name, address, waste carrier licence number, registration number, what they are collecting and where they are taking it to dispose of.
Neither of the women whose rubbish was fly-tipped had documentation because they had not used a licensed waste carrier. A £400 FPN is reduced to £200 if paid within 10 days, chiefs say.
