By Woman handed £300 penalty for fly-tipping
A woman who gave her building waste to a rogue trader has received a fixed penalty notice after it was fly-tipped on the Isle of Axholme.
North Lincolnshire Council officers tracked down the woman after a large pile of debris was discovered and reported in January.
An officer sifted through the rubbish, which had frozen to the ground, and found details of an address in Lincoln.
He then made contact, and a woman told him she had paid someone £150 to take her waste away following home improvements, but admitted she had not checked if they were legitimate.
She was reluctant to give any more details and was told she was in breach of her household waste duty of care, which means any waste generated on a householder’s property must be disposed of properly and legally.
The woman was issued with a fixed penalty notice of £400.
The fine was paid in full, taking account of the £100 reduction for early payment.
A spokesperson for North Lincolnshire Council said:
“Fixed penalty notices provide a means of dealing with fly-tipping enforcement without the need to present evidence in court.
“This means it can be resolved more quickly where people admit the offence.
“However, if it would cost more to clear up the fly-tipping than the fine would recover, officers will still take a criminal prosecution of the person involved.
“Residents are urged to think carefully before giving waste to people advertising online who may be a rogue trader with a van.
“If people offer to take waste away for little cost, it is likely they aren’t licensed, and your rubbish could end up dumped in our rural areas.”
The council operates a network of Household Recycling Centres to enable residents to recycle any unwanted household waste.
North Lincolnshire Council says it is ‘waging war’ on fly-tippers and litter-louts.
The council now employs a team of Environmental Protection team that has powers to hand out fixed penalty notices of between £150 and £400 for anyone dropping, throwing or flytipping litter.
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