Enforcement Officers from the Dorset Council Waste Enforcement team working alongside the Council’s Legal team, have successfully prosecuted a fly-tipper from Gillingham.
Gareth John Mills, 34, from Orchard Court, Gillingham, pleaded guilty at Poole Magistrates Court on 9 July to fly tipping in the County of Dorset and failing to provide a Waste Transfer Note.
A householder had contacted what was then the Dorset Waste Partnership, stating that there was a significant fly tip on the driveway of his property at in Shaftesbury. Enforcement officers visited the site to photograph and gather further evidence. Clearance of this fly tip cost the victim £288 to get it removed from his property.
An investigation discovered that a tradesman had used the services Mr Mills to clear waste, some of which was fly tipped at the property in Shaftesbury.
Mr Mills operated a licenced waste carrier business called One Man Rubbish Clearance, with an upper tier waste Carriers Licence issued by the Environment Agency. He advertised that he carried out trade and domestic rubbish clearances. He also offered his services for house, garage and shed clearances as well as a delivery and collection service of large items and building materials.
In June he was employed to clear some stones and soil from an address in Sherborne and also remove rubbish from a garage. He did not provide a Waste Transfer Note. Some of this waste was found at the fly tip in Shaftesbury.
At an interview with Enforcement Officers, Mr Mills fully admitted collecting waste from the tradesman but denied fly tipping at Shaftesbury. He disputed that the black bags and a black door he collected from the tradesman were the same black bags and black door that were fly tipped, even though those bags contained attributable waste. He did admit to not providing any Waste Transfer Notes stating that he didn’t know anything about them.
Mr Mills was issued with a Fixed Penalty for fly tipping, giving him 14 days to pay the fine of £400. He did not pay and was sent a final reminder. Again, he did not pay.
At court, he was fined a total of £1088, £600 for the fly tipping offence, £200 for failing to provide a Waste Transfer Note and ordered pay £288 in compensation to the householder.
Cllr Tony Alford, Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for Customer, Community and Regulatory Services, said:
“This is yet another successful prosecution which shows that we will not give up chasing fly-tippers and will bring them to justice”.
“Illegal dumping of waste is a blight on the community and a crime, costing the Dorset taxpayer thousands of pounds each year. This prosecution is another example of our commitment to keeping the county clean and green.
“We will not tolerate the actions of fly-tippers. We need the public’s continued support to ensure these criminal actions are brought to justice.”
If you see a fly-tip, make a note of where it is, take a picture if you can, and note down any other details. Never touch the waste or confront fly-tippers.
You can report it to us by: –
- using our online form
- calling us on 01305 221040
