Man fined over 15 sacks of waste dumped on West Wycombe Hill
The waste dumped on West Wycombe Hill. (Image supplied by Buckinghamshire County Council)
A man has been fined after 15 sacks of waste were found dumped on West Wycombe Hill.
On Wednesday 5th February 2020 a 41 year old man, of West Wycombe Road, High Wycombe made a guilty plea at High Wycombe Magistrates Court for failing in his duty of care regarding waste he produced and which was found dumped illegally off West Wycombe Hill on Monday 1st July 2019.
The court heard that on Monday 1st July 2019 a Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire enforcement officer followed up a report of waste dumped in woodland below West Wycombe Hill overlooked by the Dashwood Mausoleum.
The enforcement officer found 15 sacks of waste characteristic of having come from an automotive garage or repair shop, including materials used to respray vehicles. Amongst the waste the investigator found evidence that led to a taxi company, who informed him that they had used the services of a garage at Landales Road, High Wycombe which was a business run by the 41 year old man.
The 41 year old man was interviewed at a police station and denied dumping the waste himself, though he did live fairly close to where it was deposited. He explained that he had transferred the waste along with a quantity of scrap metal to a man he knew only as ‘Michael’. The value of the scrap metal had been in lieu of payment, and there was no record of the transaction.
The magistrates fined the 41 year old man £1,280 for the failure in his duty of care. He was ordered to pay a contribution towards clean-up and investigation costs of £899 together with a victim surcharge of £128, making a total to pay of £2,307.
Wycombe District Council Cabinet Member for Environment Julia Adey, speaking on behalf of the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire, said: ‘The fact that this fly tipping took place within sight of the iconic Dashwood Mausoleum just acts to emphasise the unpleasant and antisocial nature of waste crime.
That’s why the duty of care to dispose of waste properly is enshrined in law – someone who transfers waste cannot hide behind the fact that the person who ended up dumping it was anonymous and untraceable.
In Buckinghamshire we have a zero-tolerance approach to waste crime, and will prosecute if someone whose waste is dumped illegally hasn’t taken the proper precautions to hire a licensed, traceable waste carrier.‘
The case was prosecuted by Buckinghamshire County Council working on behalf of the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire. The Waste Partnership launched the SCRAP Fly Tipping campaign in August 2018 to combat illegal dumping and waste management offences in Buckinghamshire.
Since 2003 the Partnership has secured over 740 convictions against individuals and companies for illegal dumping and related offences, leading to fines and costs being imposed against offenders totalling over £1 million.
Fly-tipping in Buckinghamshire can be reported at www.fixmystreet.buckscc.gov.uk.
*Source of article : Press release from Buckinghamshire County Council.
