Waste dumped in Little Missenden lands builder with a conviction and £1,027 to pay

The pile of waste dumped in Little Missenden. (Image supplied by Buckinghamshire County Council)

Magistrates have fined a man after waste from a London school was dumped in Little Missenden.

A builder was given a conviction and handed a bill of more than £1,000 to pay following a failure to make sure the man who took his waste away was a bona fide waste carrier.

On Wednesday 28th August 2018, at Wycombe Magistrates Court, a 63 year old man of Maylands Avenue, Canvey Island pleaded guilty to an offence of failing in his duty of care for waste dumped illegally.

The court heard that a large amount of waste had been found at Weedon Hill in Little Missenden at an entrance to Forestry Commission woodland.

Enforcement officers from Buckinghamshire County Council carried out an investigation and found that roughly half of the dumped material came from a school in central London. After contacting the school investigators were informed that the 63 year old man had been the contractor for a recent refurbishment project at the school.

During an interview the 63 year old man stated that, at the end of the project, he paid cash to a man in a van to take the last of the rubbish away. The 63 year old man provided contact details for the carrier who proved to be untraceable. There was no paperwork in relation to the waste transfer and the 63 year old man had not checked if the person was a registered waste carrier.

A fine of £297 was imposed by the magistrates who also ordered the 63 year old man to pay prosecution costs of £700 and a victim surcharge of £30. Making a total to pay of £1,027.

Chiltern District Council Cabinet Member for Environment Caroline Jones, speaking on behalf of the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire, said: ‘The building trade is key in our battle against fly tipping.

While builders continue to pay cash to anonymous individuals to take their waste away, waste criminals will continue to flourish. That’s why we prosecute for failure in duty of care whenever we trace fly tipping to an individual or business that cannot properly identify the person who took their waste away.‘

The case was prosecuted by Buckinghamshire County Council working on behalf of the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire.

Illegal dumping can be reported at www.fixmystreet.buckscc.gov.uk.

*Source of article : Press release from Buckinghamshire County Council.