When it comes to fly – tipped waste, do you know how at risk you are?
As waste costs have steadily risen over recent years a direct consequence has been a dramatic increase in incidents of fly-tipping.
A common misconception is that incidents of fly-tipping are restricted to rural areas when in fact we are seeing more and more instances occurring in inner city areas too.
What is Fly-Tipping?
‘Fly – Tipping is the illegal deposit of any waste onto land that does not have a licence to accept it’. This means that fly-tipped waste can be anything from a single mattress to large amounts of construction or garden waste, so if it dumped on unlicenced land no matter how much of it there is it is still categorised as fly – tipping.
Is It Illegal?
Yes. It is a serious criminal offence that could see you receive a hefty fine of up to £20,000.00 as well as risk of imprisonment for repeat offenders!
When are you responsible for fly – tipped waste or at risk of prosecution?
- If waste is illegally dumped on land you own
- If you are collecting or storing waste without a licence
- If your waste has been fly – tipped by a non-licenced waste carrier
- If you dump your waste on unlicensed land
Let the buyer beware! … Using an unlicensed waste carrier.
If you use an unlicenced waste carrier you are liable – a recent case in Croydon demonstrates this when the owner of the waste received a fine of £1,100.00 because the waste carrier he paid to dispose of the waste was NOT a licenced waste carrier and did not have a waste carriers licence and the waste was fly – tipped rather than taking it to a licenced facility. As fly – tipping is a criminal offence it will be investigated as a criminal investigation and in this case the waste was traced back to the householder and the prosecution then followed!
Duty of Care
The man admitted that the waste belonged to him and he did not check to see if the waste carrier had a licence. The court decided that corners were cut to save a few £’s and that he failed to honour his duty of care for the disposal of the waste and as such a large fine ensued.
Cheap waste collection
It is important to remember that you are still responsible for your waste even after it has been collected. You may have found a cheap waste collection company or had a company call at your door to collect waste that can been seen in your front garden but you need to remember in the days and weeks following this collection you are liable if your waste is not disposed of legally.
Ask for evidence the company taking your waste is legally licenced.
Does the company have a waste carriers licence?
Where are they taking the waste?
Is the site licenced?
Any concerns then do not use them!! … the risks are too great and not worth the worry if you use an unlicenced waste disposal company.
One Waste Licences
One Waste have both a waste carriers’ licence as well as two waste transfer station licences both issued by the Environment Agency – this means we can collect and dispose of your waste.
Please contact one of the One Waste operations team if you have any questions or would like us to collect your waste.
Leave a comment