Court fine for fly-tipper who dumped waste in a Flint street

A fly-tipper who dumped waste on a residential street has been fined in court following a successful Flintshire County Council prosecution.

The investigation was carried out by Council enforcement officers after the fly-tip in Flint was reported by a member of the public.

The person failed to engage with officers and was subsequently prosecuted under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Councillor Glyn Banks, Cabinet Member for Waste and Transportation, said:

“This is another excellent result for the Council in an area where waste keeps being dumped on the street with no regard for the local community or environment.

“Fly-tipping is never acceptable. It is a serious criminal offence to fly-tip, as it can cause serious pollution to the environment, pose a risk to human health and can harm wildlife and farm animals, as well as needlessly diverting teams away from essential public services and incurring unnecessary costs.”

When an offence is committed and there is enough evidence to prosecute the offender, a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) can be issued. However, if they fail to pay, or choose not to pay, the Council will pursue prosecution at court. If found guilty of the offence, it is likely that the fine will be much higher than the initial FPN and the offender will have a criminal record.

Residents can dispose of waste items through the Council’s doorstep recycling and waste collection service or via one of Flintshire’s five household recycling centres (HRCs). Where there is a large amount of waste to dispose of, the Council recommends utilising an approved skip hire company or waste disposal contractor.

If you are passing waste on to a third party to dispose of it on your behalf, you may be liable to pay a FPN or face prosecution if it is then dumped unlawfully.

You can report suspected fly-tipping through the Council’s website or by calling 01352 701 234.

You may be asked to make a written statement about what you saw.

It will help the Council’s investigation if you can provide the following information:

• The day, date and time you saw the fly tipping taking place
• How many people were involved, what they looked like and what they were doing
• Any vehicles or trailers involved – including the make, colour and registration number
• What was tipped – how much waste and what it looked like

The council will then inspect the dumped materials, arrange for removal, collect evidence and interview any suspects.

Officers can investigate waste fly tipped on private land with the land owner’s permission and prosecute or issue an FPN, but it would be up to the landowner to remove the waste.