Van owner left with £800 fine and crushed vehicle after fly-tipping in Redbridge

A fly-tipper who dumped tyres and old carpets in a Redbridge alleyway ended up with £800 worth of fines and a crushed van after being tracked down by Redbridge Council and hit with enforcement action.

The culprit was brought to justice after footage emerged of his van being used on two separate occasions to dump rubbish in an alleyway backing onto houses in Barkingside.

Among the rubbish found fly-tipped was filled sacks, old carpets and four vehicle tyres.

It wasn’t long before the Council’s Enforcement Team were able to link the offending van to a local address as part of their investigation. Further enquiries revealed that another vehicle, also linked to fly-tipping incidents in the borough, was also connected to the address.

In a joint operation with the Police, the council seized both vehicles under section 34 Environmental Protection Act 1990, as Enforcement Officers continued to track down the vehicle owners.

The owner of the van was eventually traced and interviewed under caution, during which he admitted to fly-tipping in the alleyway, landing him with two fines totalling £800.

His seized van was also crushed after he failed to collect it within the designated time frame.

The second seized vehicle, for which an owner could not be traced, was also crushed.

Redbridge Cabinet Member for Environment and Civic Pride Cllr Jo Blackman, said: “Redbridge is our home, and no one has the right to dump rubbish on our streets. The council takes tough action against anyone caught fly-tipping, and in this case the fly-tipper ended up losing both his money, and his van. This could have been easily avoided as there are lots of different ways you can dispose of rubbish responsibly and legally in the borough.”

• To report a fly-tip go to: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/report-it/
• For more information on waste disposal options in the borough go to: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/bins-waste-and-recycling/

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 end up in court-imposed costs and a criminal record 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.

If hiring a private contractor to remove household, garden, or construction waste remember to:

• Check the individual or company being hired is registered with the Environment Agency and has a valid ‘Upper Tier’ Waste Carriers Licence. This can be done on: https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers

You can check using either their registration number, business name, or postcode, or call the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506.

• Do research to find out if they are a genuine and reputable company or individual
• Check where they are proposing to take your waste
• Record the registration number of any vehicle removing waste from your home
• Pay by cheque, card or bank transfer as payments can be traced if the waste is fly tipped. If they insist on cash refuse their service
• Obtain a waste transfer note and a receipt for their service and keep it as proof.

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