North East Lincolnshire Council is is warning households to be on their guard against rogue traders dumping waste – as fines are issued to fly-tippers and a couple who let waste get out of control at their property.
The council has today issued a warning to homeowners to be on their guard following reports of known rogue traders operating in the area. It is advising people not to take up offers for jobs such as clearing gardens and replacing driveways from traders knocking at the door.
They will often quote a low price for a job, but it can quickly escalate once they start working. After finishing jobs such as cutting back trees or replacing a drive, they often take the waste away and dump it illegally.
Criminal gangs and rogue traders are known to fly-tip rubbish out of sight in places like ditches and other waterways. If watercourses are blocked, it can cause flooding. It also damages natural habitat and puts wildlife at risk. Householders will be fined if their waste is found fly-tipped by someone else.
Cllr Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for Safer and Stronger Communities at North East Lincolnshire Council, said:“Our advice is simple – don’t do business on your doorstep. We are also concerned about rogue traders posting messages on social media offering to take waste away for a fee. They take your money but fly-tip the waste instead of disposing of it correctly. These people are organised criminals. This is illegal activity is harming legitimate waste carrier“If someone takes your waste away, you need to check their credentials. You can be fined £300 if your waste is dumped illegally.”
How to avoid a fine
North East Lincolnshire Council is part of the SCRAP campaign, part of a nationwide crackdown against fly-tipping.
SCRAP stands for:
- Suspect ALL waste carriers – ask for ID if someone is taking away your waste
- Check with the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506 that they are licensed or check the register at https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers.
- Refuse unexpected offers from people knocking at your door offering to take your waste away
- Ask what will happen to your waste. If you are not sure, take a photo of the waste they are taking and take a photo or note the description of the person taking it and their vehicle registration.
- Paperwork – get a full receipt
The warning comes as two fly-tippers and a couple were successfully fined regarding separate incidents.
In one hearing, Steven Vines, 34, of Tunnard Street, Grimsby, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Environmental Protection Act after being seen on CCTV arriving at Garibaldi Street car park in a black Mazda on 18 January 2020. Vines and an unknown man dumped rubbish including a large cardboard box, a black bin bag and a carrier bag next to the car park recycling bins. They returned to the car park about 20 minutes later and dumped more rubbish before driving away.
The car was traced to Jessica Hann, 29, of Tunnard Street, Grimsby. Although Hann was not in the car at the time of the offences, she was fined at an earlier hearing because her car was used to fly-tip waste illegally. At that hearing, Hann was fined £200, ordered to pay a £32 victim surcharge and £202 costs, making a total of £434.
After tracing the car, an environmental enforcement officer visited the address and identified Vines from the CCTV footage. Vines was invited to attend a voluntary interview to mitigate his circumstances but failed to attend.
Environmental enforcement officers sent Vines a fixed penalty notice for £400 on 18 August 2020. An officer visited again on 8 December 2020 but Hann made it clear they would not pay and would not attend court. Vines did not attend court when his case was originally listed and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He appeared at Grimsby Magistrates’ Court on 23 July 2021 and was fined £70. The Magistrates considered the fact that his partner Hann had already been fined and looked at the income/outgoings of the household. The fine was ordered to be paid at £5 a week.
In the second hearing, Scott Shreeve, 31, of Yarborough Road, Grimsby, pleaded guilty to two fly-tipping offences at Garibaldi Street car park on Boxing Day 2018 and Boxing Day 2019.
In the first incident, CCTV identified Shreeve emptying rubbish from the boot of his black Renault Megane next to the car park recycling bins. Exactly a year later, he was again captured on CCTV dumping rubbish from a red Ford Focus.
Shreeve admitted the offences when he was interviewed under caution on 25 June 2020. He was given a Fixed Penalty Notice in order to discharge his liability and avoid appearing in court, but he failed to pay within the specified time. Shreeve was fined £515 at the rate of £25 per week. No order was made for costs.
Cllr Shepherd said: “If you fly-tip in North East Lincolnshire we will fine you. It costs the area’s taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds each year to clean up rubbish people have dumped illegally. Posters or signs at all our recycling banks give clear warnings about CCTV and the implications of leaving waste next to the bins.
“In both these cases, the rubbish could have been taken to the tip for free, there was absolutely no need to dump it in a car park. Both offenders had the opportunity to pay a fixed penalty notice for the offences, but both failed to do so and ended up in court.”
Garibaldi Street bring to recycling bank was removed in January 2020 due to excessive fly-tipping. Report fly-tipping here.
Meanwhile, armchairs, mattresses, a shopping trolley and a door – just some items from a heap of rubbish North East Lincolnshire Council enforcement officers had cleared from a Grimsby garden.
It cost the council £2,000 to remove the rubbish from the long-term empty property in Hainton Avenue. Owners Peter Reid, 58, and Sara Short, 55 , of Old School Yard, Redbourne, Gainsborough, were punished with fines and court bills totalling £1,894 after ignoring legal warnings to clean up the mess.
An environmental Enforcement officer visited the property on 25 November 2020 after a complaint and found rubbish including broken furniture, a tarpaulin, building materials, tree clippings and mattresses piled up in the garden.The accumulation of waste was deemed to be a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 Sec 79 (1) (e).
Officers sent an introductory warning letter on 4 December 2020 followed by a legal notice on 22 December stating that the rubbish had to be removed within 28 days.No attempt was made to clear up the mess and the Council arranged for the garden to be cleared by a private contractor in February 2021 at a cost of £2,000.
Reid and Short failed to attend Grimsby Magistrates’ Court on 23 July 2021 and were found guilty in their absence.The court fined them each £770, imposed a victim surcharge of £77, and ordered them to pay costs of £100, making a total of £947 each. The Council can also begin the process to recover the cost of the clean up.
Cllr Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for Safer and Stronger Communities, said:“This Hainton Avenue property was a compete eyesore. A massive amount of waste had accumulated in the garden.
“It’s not fair on anyone living near the property to have to put up with such a nuisance.
“When properties are left in such a state, they can attract fly-tipping and other types of anti-social behaviour.
“After our warnings to clear up the mess were ignored, we arranged for the waste to be disposed of and took the owners to court.”
Accumulations or build-up of rubbish and severely overgrown gardens can have a negative impact on the neighbourhood. It becomes a nuisance when it begins to smell, encourages vermin or is unsightly.
If you believe the rubbish is attracting vermin or contains food waste you need to report using the online form here.
Words and images from NELC.
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