An unhappy New Year for Hainault woman who fly-tipped rubbish yards from her home

A Hainault woman who dumped her unwanted rubbish on the street she lives on was successfully prosecuted for fly-tipping by Redbridge Council.

Bobbie Stacey Russell, age 45, from Yellowpine Way, Hainault, started the New Year paying out a £1000 fine for fly-tipping rubbish just yards from her home.

Among the items callously fly-tipped by Russell in her own neighbourhood were household waste bags, clothes, cardboard boxes and papers.

Everything she dumped she could have easily disposed of using Council Services such as weekly recycling collections; booking a free doorstep clothing collection from Council partners TRAID; using the Chigwell Road Reuse and Recycling Centre – just a few of the waste disposal options easily accessible in Redbridge.

Russell was quickly identified as the offender behind the fly-tip after the Council’s Enforcement Team was alerted to the mess.

Arriving at the messy scene in Yellowpine Way, an Enforcement Officer quickly found evidence to trace the rubbish back to a property on the same road.

After identifying Russell as the suspected culprit, the Enforcement Officer asked her to explain why the waste had been left on the pavement.

After initially denying knowledge of the grime-crime, Russell told the Enforcement Officer she would clear it up but failed to do so - leading to a £400 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for fly-tipping.

Despite being sent Council reminders the FPN remained unpaid, landing Russell in court with a charge of fly-tipping against her name.

On Thursday 9 January, Russell appeared at Romford Magistrates Court, offering a late guilty plea. The judge ordered her to pay a fine and court and council costs – all totalling £1,000.

Now left £1000 out of pocket Russell is likely regretting her decision to fly-tip waste that could have been easily disposed of responsibly and without breaking the law.

Find out more on responsible ways to dispose of waste, including Redbridge Council’s Bulky Waste Collection service entitling residents to a free collection every 12 months (maximum of 3 items): https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/bins-waste-and-recycling/

Redbridge Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety, Cllr Khayer Chowdhury, said: “Dumping rubbish and wrecking our environment is a criminal offence, and we won’t tolerate it as a community. The majority of local people care about the borough, but a minority are spoiling it for everyone by leaving their rubbish on the street when there are so many ways to easily dispose of waste in our borough. We are working closely with our communities to hold grime crime offenders accountable for their actions and will not hesitate to use the full weight of the law against fly-tippers.”

If you spot a fly-tip in the borough you can easily report it online through the council’s Report It page:  https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/report-it/

All fly tips made known to the council are recorded and investigated, with enforcement action being taken if evidence is found. The council aims to clear all recorded fly-tips on council land and the highway within 24 hours of it being reported. You can also submit evidence of perpetrators or their vehicles on our Report It page which will aid enforcement investigations.

Local householders are also being reminded not to fall foul of the law by taking steps to ensure anyone hired to remove waste from their property, including building waste, is authorised to do so with the correct Waste Carriers Licence.

Failure to do so could lead to a £600 fine if your waste is discovered fly-tipped and you cannot provide evidence of who you gave it to for removal or neglected to check if they had a valid Waste Carriers Licence.

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