A MOTTRAM woman has been ordered to pay more than £600 after her household waste was found dumped in a rural lane.
Multiple black bags were discovered strewn on Apple Street in Hyde on July 23, 2024 after enforcement officers were called to investigate reports of fly tipping.
They were traced to Candice Parkins, of John Kennedy Road – just a mile-and-a-half from where they were discovered.
And at Tameside Magistrates Court on July 2, she was hit in the pocket.
The bench heard Ms Parkins was offered the opportunity to pay a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) and discharge her liability to the offence or come in for an interview under caution.
However, the FPN was not paid and she did not respond to the council, despite further reminder letters being sent.
Prosecution proceedings were started and the matter was listed at Tameside Magistrates’ Court on January 29, but Ms Parkins failed to attend, so a warrant was issued for her arrest.
Eventually she pleaded guilty to the offence of failing in her duty of care to ensure the waste was removed by an authorised waste carrier – an offence under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
In mitigation, Ms Parkins said her landlord and neighbours had complained about rubbish accumulating at her property, so she asked her ex-partner to arrange the removal of waste and he messaged someone online.
But no checks were carried out to ensure that the waste was removed by a registered waste carrier and she was unable to provide any information about who removed the waste.
Ms Perkins was fined £120 and ordered to pay £450 towards costs and a victim surcharge of £48 – combined total of £618.
Tameside Council’s executive member for environmental services and neighbourhoods, Cllr Laura Boyle, said: “This case serves as a reminder that all residents are legally required to ensure their waste is disposed of responsibly and we urge people to always make sure they use a licensed waste carrier to dispose of their waste.
“Fly tipping is a blight on our communities and we will always take enforcement action where we find evidence of those responsible.
“In 2023/24 we gave out 236 fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping – more than anywhere else in the north west.
“This is part of a wider approach where we hold regular days of action to investigate and clear fly tipping and talk directly to residents about issues of concern to them.”
Residents can check the register of authorised waste carriers here – https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers
Other checks they can make include:
Recording details of the business and of any vehicle used which can be linked to an authorised operator.
A record of the checks made including the operator’s registration, permit or exemption number.
A receipt for the transaction which includes the business details of a registered operator
A copy or photograph of the carrier’s waste license or site’s permit.