Plumber to pay £1,014 for failing in his duty of care over trade waste dumped in Marlow Bottom

A plumber from High Wycombe has to pay £1,014 for failing in his duty of care after trade waste was found dumped in Marlow Bottom.

On Wednesday 6th September 2017 the 33 year old plumber of Pheasant Drive, High Wycombe pleaded guilty at High Wycombe Magistrates Court to an offence of failing in his duty of care under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 regarding waste which was found illegally dumped.

The court heard that on Thursday 20th April 2017 an officer from the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire examined waste which had been dumped on Wycombe Road, Marlow Bottom, Bucks. Amongst the waste he found items which were traced to plumbing work carried out by the 33 year old man.

When interviewed at a police station the 33 year old man denied having dumped the waste himself. He said he had been approached by unknown men of Middle Eastern appearance driving a Vauxhall Combo van while working at an address in Marlow. He said the men tried to take (without permission) copper scrap from his work at the property. After some confrontation, the 33 year old man finally agreed to allow them to remove the scrap, but he insisted that the men first take his general waste. The waste items included cardboard and plastic packaging, a breeze block and plumbing waste. The 33 year old man identified the waste shown in photographs as that waste which had been taken by the unknown men.

The 33 year old man admitted that he had not identified the men adequately, that he had not checked that they were authorised to remove the waste and that he had not insisted on receiving a lawful waste transfer note as a receipt.

The Magistrates fined the 33 year old man £461 and ordered clean-up and prosecution costs to be paid in the sum of £457. A victim surcharge of £46 was also levied with a compensation order of £50 for clean-up – making a total to pay of £1,014.

Wycombe District Council Cabinet Member for Environment Julia Adey, speaking on behalf of the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire, said: ‘The authorities in Buckinghamshire have consistently taken enforcement action where people have transferred waste to ‘a man with a van’ without taking the measures required by the Duty of Care law.

You should identify the person properly, check they are a registered waste carrier, and obtain a waste transfer note from them.

Please do all you can to avoid your waste being fly-tipped – otherwise you’re risking a conviction and a considerable fine.‘

Dumped waste can be reported online at http://old.buckscc.gov.uk/fly.