Following on from the Conservative-led council’s “crime not to care” campaign and the Conservative group’s successful council motion pledging to take fly tipping seriously, a waste carrier has been found guilty by York Magistrates of illegally dumping materials and ordered to pay £4,670.
Last July the council was notified of fly tipping on Mill Lane, Askham Richard, Officers traced the waste to a York-based charity, which provided an invoice showing that it had paid a licensed waste removal carrier, York Waste and Rubbish, owned by Michael Pipes Acomb, York.
In his interview Mr Pipes admitted that he was paid by York Mind to remove waste but denied fly-tipping, and although licensed, was unable to give officers waste transfer information to prove that he took it to a licensed waste site.
Mr Pipes was also asked to show diary entries for his jobs requested under Section 108 of the Environmental Act 1995, which again he couldn’t provide for this job.
The magistrate told Mr Pipes: “Depositing waste is an extremely serious offence. It is unpleasant to look at and can be dangerous to the environment. It is not to be taken lightly. The fines involved are high for that reason.”
The fines totalled £3,500 with a surcharge of £170 and a costs award of £1,000, adding up to a total £4,670.
Cllr. Tony Richardson, Conservative spokesperson for environment, said: “The vast majority of licensed waste carriers in York act within the law. However, the reason I proposed our council motion on fly tipping was to ensure that the council can utilise every power at its disposal to crack down on waste carriers who just can’t be bothered to properly dispose of the waste they have been paid to deal with properly.