Three Rivers District Council sends out message on fly tipping - householders beware of rogue waste carriers

In 2016 and 2017 Three Rivers District Council has had to deal with numerous cases of fly tipping in the area. Many cases involved householders paying an unknown person at the door to remove waste when they were approached and offered a cheap deal. Their waste ended up fly tipped and the evidence trail led back to them.

A number of residents have accepted a formal caution for an offence under the Environmental Protection Act of failing to ensure that their waste was picked up by an authorised waste carrier. A caution is a recordable matter which must be disclosed to employers in certain situations and will be shared with all law enforcement agencies.

Those cautioned include;

• A resident of Ashburnham Drive who left waste piled in a garage area in Woodhall Lane having paid someone to collect it. It was never picked up.
• A couple in Moor Park who paid persons unknown to take away waste. This waste was amongst other waste dumped illegally in Chalfont Lane.
• A builder working in Harrow paid unknown persons to take away carpet waste. It was found dumped in the Three Rivers area.
• A householder in Harrow who left black bin bags outside the house knowing that unknown persons would pick it up to sort through it. The waste was thrown from a vehicle and scattered on roads in Loudwater and Sarratt.

Others have been cautioned for fly tipping or received a fixed penalty of £300 under new powers granted to local authorities. They include:

• A resident of Prestwick Road who left parts of a sunbed and ducting on a grass verge believing it would be collected by scrap metal merchants.
• A resident of Muirfield Road who routinely dumped household goods on a footpath in a wooded area behind his property.
• A resident from Oaklands Avenue who dumped green waste and branches in the communal bins at Thompson Way flats.

Further powers exist to serve a community protection notice (CPN) on residents who are not dealing with their waste appropriately. Those served with such notices include:

• A housing association for failing to manage their bin stores, landowners of commercial premises in Mill End for failing to deal with waste created by shop keepers on their land
• A carpet shop owner on the Uxbridge Road who allowed old carpet and underlay to accumulate on his land and who was prosecuted for breach of his CPN. He ended up paying a fixed penalty for breach and a large amount of costs to Three Rivers.
• Additionally a resident of Prestwick Road who failed to heed a CPN about her household waste was fined and ordered to pay costs.

Three Rivers will prosecute offenders where necessary in the public interest:

• A tyre depot in Watford faced prosecution for failing to ensure that waste was picked up by legal carriers. The waste ended up dumped in Greenhill Close Chorleywood. The offender had to pay clear-up costs and legal costs of approximately £4,000 including a fixed penalty for failing to produce waste transfer documents.
• A local builder was prosecuted for failing to transfer builders waste from his own household to an authorised person. He paid a man at the door £100 to remove his waste which ended up being dumped in Hallowes Crescent. This man was ordered to pay fines and clear up costs of £1200.
• Another local man advertised on Mybuilder.com that he would collect waste and dispose of it. Together with other men, whom he refused to name, he collected building waste from a home in Amersham and it ended up dumped in Markeston Green Garages in South Oxhey. He pleaded guilty to acting as a broker in controlled waste without being registered and failing to transfer the waste to an authorised person. He was ordered to pay fines and clear up costs of just under £2000.

The Hertfordshire Fly Tipping Group; a collaboration between various key stakeholders, including the ten district/boroughs and the County Council, Hertfordshire Constabulary, the Environment Agency, the Police and Crime Commissioner and the National Farmers Union, is working together to combat fly tipping in Hertfordshire.

Mr Duncan Jones, Partnership Development Manager for the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership and Chairman of the Hertfordshire Fly Tipping Group said "As part of the FTG I welcome this latest public relations initiative from Three Rivers District Council. Research recently conducted by the Herts FTG in association with Keep Britain Tidy shows that approximately 60% of the fly tipping in Hertfordshire is domestic in nature and often come about through actions that some would not consider fly tipping’’.

Councillor Phil Brading, TRDC Lead Member for Public Services, said "It is important that residents understand their Duty of Care when it comes to responsible waste disposal. People need to make sure they dispose of unwanted items properly, either by taking them to charity shops if suitable, or taking them to their nearest Household Waste Recycling Centre, or arranging for them to be collected by the Council or a properly licenced waste management contractor-  after first checking the licence details."

Call the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506 or use their website https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers  to check for a licence.

If you see fly tipping in action please report to the police on 999.  If you come across fly tipping after the event please report to your local council.

Visit www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/flytipping  to find out more about fly tipping, or information on Hertfordshire’s Household Waste Recycling Centres; including accepted materials, locations, opening hours and van permit applications.