A Mountain Ash woman has been fined £700 for fly-tipping on her own doorstep!
Fly tipping, dropping litter or allowing your dog to foul in a public place will not be tolerated in Rhondda Cynon Taf and, as this latest case shows, the Council will use all its available powers to catch those responsible for blighting its towns and countryside.
The woman in question had a number of large items placed outside her terraced property for a number of weeks and made no attempt to remove the items - the items included; TWO pushchairs, a grey cupboard, a black headboard, TWO pieces of white wood and a green wheelie bin with a black bag on top of it.
Following a visit from a Streetcare Enforcement Officer a letter was placed through the door to advise the woman to remove the items or face prosecution. Over a week later the officer returned to check the property and discovered that the items had not been removed, but more items had been added, which included FOUR filled recycling bags.
The officer tried to speak with occupier but was once again unsuccessful and therefore issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) of £400 for failing to control her waste and Fly-tipping on a public highway. The woman contacted the Enforcement team after a number of weeks and agreed to pay the FPN via a payment plan. A one-off partial payment was made, but SIX months after the incident occurred no further payments had been made and the woman had moved house.
The team tracked down the lady to her new address and were forced to refer the issue to the courts to recover the fine and ensure that this woman was held accountable for blighting her street and failing to face the consequences.
This acts as a clear reminder that residents have a duty of care to dispose of their waste appropriately and to ensure that items are disposed of correctly. Failure to do this, could end up costing you a lot more than travelling a few miles to the nearest local community recycling centre!
Section 33(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 sets out the offence of fly tipping describing it as the “illegal deposit of any waste onto land that does not have a licence to accept it”. Anyone illegally disposing of their waste could face a hefty fine as this woman has now discovered!
The Council has a weekly, unlimited, kerbside dry, food waste and nappy recycling service, and a number of community recycling centres across the County Borough, so there's no excuse for fly-tipping, especially items that can be collected at the kerbside or recycled right here in Rhondda Cynon Taf.
Councillor Ann Crimmings, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Leisure said:
“Fly-tipping in our County Borough will not be tolerated, there is NEVER an excuse to blight our towns, streets and villages with waste and we will find those responsible and hold them to account.
"As this case highlights, we investigate ALL reports of fly-tipping and we will uncover all the details as this offender has found out.
"Removal of fly-tipping in our County Borough costs hundreds of thousands of pounds - which could be spent on key front-line services.
“We will use EVERY power we have available to us, to hold those accountable for their actions. Many of the items we recover on our streets, towns and mountains are items that could have been taken to a Community Recycling Centre or even collected from the kerbside - at no extra cost.”
For more information on how to report Fly-Tipping, Recycling and Community Recycling Centres in RCT follow the Council on Facebook/Twitter or visit www.rctcbc.gov.uk
Posted on 10/08/2022