A huge amount of rubbish including old leather sofas, plaster board and other waste dumped on country lanes in North Yorkshire landed a man in court with a £1,500 fine and costs.
Although Jimmy Nicholson, 32, said he did not dump the waste, he had not checked that the men who took the rubbish were properly licensed. He admitted failing in his duty of care for waste under the environmental protection act.
North Yorkshire Council’s environmental protection team launched an investigation into Nicholson in January after reports by a traffic sergeant from North Yorkshire Police of a large amount of waste fly-tipped on Ox Moor Lane in Cattal, near Harrogate.
The tip consisted of broken and dismantled furniture, black leather sofas, plasterboard, dining chairs and other household waste. It also contained documentation in the name of Nicholson, from Lyneburn Cottage Caravan Site in Morpeth, and a name and address of where the waste had come from.
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Another fly-tip on Springs Lane, Hutton Wandesley, outside York, was also discovered including plasterboard and broken wood, which had documentation with the same address. It was discovered Nicholson had been employed to clear the property of waste and carry out renovation work.
He had used skips for some of the waste but had stored a large amount on the driveway of the property. York magistrates were told an unknown scrapman had approached Nicholson and offered to remove it for £170.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for the environment, Cllr Greg White, said: "This prosecution is another example of how our environmental protection and street cleansing teams are taking a strong stance against fly-tipping.
"They work tirelessly to prosecute those who dump waste illegally, which is not only a blight on our beautiful countryside but poses a potential health risk to the public.
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"This case should be a lesson to all businesses that they must ensure whoever they give their waste to is authorised to accept it, be that an authorised site or a waste carrier who should have an upper tier waste carriers licence issued by the Environment Agency.
“They must also obtain documentation detailing what waste has been transferred, to whom and when, and this documentation known as a waste transfer note must be kept for two years.
"If these checks are not carried out, they are risking the waste being fly-tipped and them being prosecuted."
For more information and to report fly tipping click here
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