Warning over £5k flytipping fines

Whether it be remnants of a bit of pre-Christmas DIY, building or refurbishment debris, unwanted furniture, fixtures and fittings or excess household waste you’re wanting to dispose of, Lancaster City Council is reminding residents and businesses that they have a duty of care to ensure it is disposed of at a licensed site and not a layby.

If evidence can be found amongst any flytipped waste by the council’s enforcement team which traces the waste back to its owner, it could mean the householder or business being prosecuted for failing to make insufficient checks as to the legitimacy of the disposal service they are using as well as for the costs incurred by the council to clear it up.

If you’re looking to have waste removed from your property or business, a legitimate waste carrier will always:

•Be registered with the Environment Agency.

•Have a waste carrier licence which can be verified online at www.lancaster.gov.uk/waste-carriers

•Provide a waste transfer note for removal of any waste on request (eg following building or garden work).

•Provide details of the site license where the waste is to be disposed.

•Be able to provide proof of where it was taken in the form of an official weight ticket which will identify the disposal site.

Coun Brendan Hughes, Cabinet member with responsibility for environmental services, said: “Every individual and business has a duty of care to dispose of their waste in a responsible and legal manner and I am sure the majority of people who handed over their waste in good faith would be horrified if they were to find out their old kitchen or bathroom units had become eyesores as they litter our beautiful countryside.

“Even so, our enforcement team will continue to do all it can to trace it back to its owner who could be fined up to £5,000 for simply failing to check the legitimacy of who was taking their waste away and where it was being disposed of.”

Anyone looking to earn a bit of cash on the side by running a unlicensed cowboy waste disposal business also needs to think twice before engaging in the criminal activity of flytipping. Offenders if caught could find themselves being fined up to £50,000 in a magistrates’ court, an unlimited fine in the higher courts and up to five years imprisonment.

To report incidents of flytipping which can be from as small as a black bin bag of rubbish left in an alleyway to furniture, fridges/freezers and demolition waste dumped at the side of a road, call Lancaster City Council Customer Services on 01524 582491 or submit the online reporting form at www.lancaster.gov.uk/fly-tipping.