Money down the drain for company prosecuted for fly-tipping in Bucks
A drainage company has paid a hefty price for making the error of paying a rogue trader to dispose of their commercial waste after it was found fly-tipped in Buckinghamshire.
Drainiac Ltd, pleaded guilty to the offence of failing in their duty of care when transferring waste to a waste remover when the case was heard at High Wycombe Magistrates Court on Wednesday 21 February 2024.
The court heard that on Wednesday 21 June 2023, mixed building waste was found dumped at Gravelly Way, Penn, in Buckinghamshire. Buckinghamshire Council’s waste enforcement team carries out regular searches of the area, due to it being heavily blighted with fly-tipping.
On this occasion, an enforcement officer found evidence amongst the waste linking it to an address in Eastern Dene, High Wycombe. The details were later traced back to a company called Drainiac Ltd who explained they were approached by a man with a van asking for scrap metal. Drainiac Ltd had no scrap metal but explained they had some waste. The man with the van accepted £50 cash and removed the waste from the property.
Magistrates at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court fined Drainiac Ltd £4,000 and ordered them to pay a contribution of £1,049.89 towards the council’s clean up and investigation costs - making a total to pay of £5,049.89.
Thomas Broom, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment said: “Buckinghamshire Council has a firm position on fly-tipping - it is against the law and offenders will face ‘zero tolerance’ consequences. This offence was traced through evidence found amongst the waste which traced back to a company who had not made the correct checks on the waste remover. Even though the company had not carried out the fly-tipping directly, as the producer of the waste, they are held accountable for its legal disposal.”
Thomas added: “We continue to emphasise to everyone, cash payment is not traceable so we would encourage people not to pay by cash when having waste removed. Always use a registered waste removal service. You can check easily online - Waste Carriers, Brokers and Dealers and pay by card or even cheque which creates a digital, traceable record and allows our enforcement team to seek to prosecute the offenders directly.”
To report fly-tipping anywhere in Buckinghamshire visit: www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/fix-my-street
If you have evidence showing a fly-tipping offence taking place and you are willing to provide a witness statement, please contact the council’s Enforcement Team at: [email protected]