New fines for householders ignoring their duty of care

Householders who are indirectly guilty of fly-tipping because they failed to check that the waste carrier they hired was properly licensed, may be issued with £250 fixed penalty notice.

Fly tipping at Acomb Car park

Previously anyone committing this offence would be liable for prosecution alongside the fly-tipper themselves.

The new fine, agreed yesterday, allows a more proportionate penalty and can be reduced to £150 if paid within 10 days of issue. It also gives the offender an alternative to prosecution and so avoid a criminal record should they be found guilty. Offenders who do not pay the fine will be prosecuted and so risk a significantly higher fine or sentencing by the courts.

Two-thirds of fly-tips throughout the country contain household waste. This new fixed penalty is the latest development to deter fly-tipping in York. It supports both Keep Britain Tidy’s #CrimeNotToCare which City of York Council launched in January 2018, and the regional, rurally-focused Operation Eyeball campaign which started last summer. These are both backed by regular enforcement action run by the council along with North Yorkshire Police and DVLA to deter illegal waste movement and disposal.

Check if a carrier is licenced at https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers or call the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506.

Residents can take waste to our household waste recycling centres – see www.york.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling – or can arrange for the council to collect it via www.york.gov.uk/BulkyWaste. Up to ten items can be taken so why not join together with neighbours?

Spring clean anyone?

As we’ve pointed out over the last few days, many of our public open spaces are looking clean and tidy at the moment.

In west York parks and amenity areas provide an attractive informal opportunity for leisure although in the Westfield ward several are under threat of development.

But there are several areas where litter and fly tipping are a problem. In some cases, items dumped many months ago still haven’t been removed by the Council.

Time for some action we think.

Fortunately, there is an active residents association in the Foxwood area and they have promised to support a month of action in their neighbourhood.

Elsewhere in the Westfield ward residents are currently less well organised so some proactive management is required.

Actions speak louder than words

Shortly there will be local elections in the area. Some candidates are already delivering literature. Both Labour and the LibDems have been seen on the streets this weekend.

The Tories have resorted to employing a contractor to deliver their leaflets They candidly admit that they don’t actually have any candidates, with only a few weeks to go before nominations close.

But no matter. If the candidates or all parties want to impress why don’t they individually organise a “spring clean” in a problem area? This might help to make a favourable impression on voters as well as enhancing the local environment?

The Keep Britain Tidy organisation coordinates an annual Great British Spring Clean campaign. This year the campaign will run between 22nd March – 23rd April 2019 and will focus on removing single use plastics from our open spaces.

Please visit their web site for more details https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/get-involved/support-our-campaigns/great-british-spring-clean

Grange Lane wood – extensive fly tipping and litter a continuing issue

Dumped mattress in Acomb Wood has been there for several months.

 

Litter in back Front Street is a constant problem

Fly tipping on Chesney’s Field reported twice

Sofa dumped in play area

A sofa has been dumped in the Cornlands Road park play area. It is surrounded by rubbish. The issue has been reported to the Council but it is a shame that an area intended for use by younger children should be defaced in this way. Hopefully the Police will be able to increase patrols in the area.

 

Elsewhere at the recycling centre in the Acomb Car Park rubbish has been fly tipped. We’ve asked for the area to be cleaned up and for some of the recycling bins to be repainted.

 

Dumping blights back lanes in York

We were sorry to see that rubbish is piled in some terraced streets in the City. Nothing depresses an area more than fly tipping so the Councils robust level of fines are probably justified – albeit sparingly used.

In the Green Lane area yesterday we found two examples of dumping. The area now has 100% wheeled bin operation which has reduce litter drift. But, since the closure of the local recycling centre on Beckfield Lane 6 years ago, problems with dumping have increased. They are exacerbated by relatively high charges levied by the Council for removing bulky waste  

Regular visits by skips to estates were stopped about 2 years go. This decision has also impacted on how tidy our streets are

So something needs to change.

Recycling pont in Acomb Car park needs a “makeover”

Poor commercial storage arrangements at back of Front Street

Rubbish accumulating in Gladstone Street back lane

Rubbish in Howe Street back lane

 

New flytipping task force formed in York and North Yorkshire

A brand new fly tipping task force named Operation Eyeball has been formed to tackle fly tipping in rural parts of North Yorkshire and the City of York.

Bringing together North Yorkshire Police with landowners and district and unitary councils will allow the sharing of intelligence and information to tackle the crime. A key element will be planned and targeted enforcement action days.

North Yorkshire County Council, Network Rail, the NFU and the Environment Agency, as landowners, are also involved. Along with City of York Council, all seven North Yorkshire local authorities who have enforcement powers for this crime are also involved in the operation: Selby District Council, Ryedale District Council, Hambleton District Council, Harrogate District Council, Craven District Council, Scarborough Borough Council and Richmondshire District Council.

North Yorkshire Police will be gathering and sharing intelligence around fly tipping hot spots, suspect vehicles and waste carriers.

Supt Paula Booth, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “Fly-tipping is a selfish crime that blights local environments and spoils people’s enjoyment of our towns and countryside. It is a source of pollution, a potential danger to public health and a hazard to wildlife. It also undermines legitimate waste businesses who operate within the law.

“By working together, we can tackle this issue. We also need help from the public – if you find or witness fly-tipping, wherever it is, record as many details about the incident and the waste as you can, and report it to your local authority or via the gov.uk website. This will help the authorities take action against those responsible and stop them fly-tipping in the future.”

Anyone who witnesses fly tipping should report it to their local authority.

Clampdown on rogue waste carriers proves it a ‘Crime not to Care’

The council’s drive to clamp down on fly-tipping continues as a waste carrier has been found guilty by York Magistrates of illegally dumping waste and has been ordered to pay £4,670.

On 10 July 2017, City of York Council received a report of fly tipping on Mill Lane, Askham Richard, York. Officers traced the waste to a York-based charity which provided an invoice showing that it had paid a licensed waste removal carrier, York Waste and Rubbish, owned by Michael Pipes, aged 40 of Sowerby Road, Acomb, York.

Mr Pipes attended an interview under caution, admitting he was paid to remove waste from York Mind but denied fly-tipping it. Although Mr Pipes is licensed to carry waste he was unable to give officers waste transfer information to prove that he took it to a licensed waste site.

Mr Pipes was asked to show diary entries for his jobs requested under Section 108 of the Environmental Act 1995, which again he couldn’t do for this job.

As part of his mitigation, the defendant wrote to the magistrates: “I apologise for any hurt, distress I’ve caused to anyone involved in this situation. This again, was not my intention.”

The magistrate told Mr Pipes: “Depositing waste is an extremely serious offence. It is unpleasant to look at and can be dangerous to the environment. It is not to be taken lightly. The fines involved are high for that reason.”

The fines totalled £3,500 with a surcharge of £170 and a costs award of £1,000, adding up to a total £4,670.

Councillor Andrew Waller, executive member for environment, said: “The vast majority of licensed waste carriers in York act within the law. This continued action by our enforcement officers to clamp down on unlicensed or rogue waste carriers supports our #CrimeNotToCare campaign to reduce fly-tipping.

“We continue to ask residents and businesses to use licensed carriers or, for waste they can’t take to our household waste recycling centres, arrange for the council to collect it via https://www.york.gov.uk/BulkyWaste. We’ll take up to ten items so please join together with neighbours.”

Richard McIlwain, deputy chief executive of the charity Keep Britain Tidy, said: “I applaud the actions of City of York Council and the magistrates in getting this case to court and making sure the fine fits the crime. It’s great to see the council putting our Crime not to Care campaign into action.”

It’s a #crime not to care, new campaign tells York residents

A new campaign to help curb fly-tipping is reminding residents and businesses that by law, their waste is their responsibility and must be disposed of safely and legally, otherwise they face a significant fine.

Launched with Richard McIlwain, deputy chief executive for Keep Britain Tidy, the #Crime Not to Care campaign aims to raise awareness and tackle unlicensed waste carriers responsible for a growth in fly-tipping.

All waste carriers must be licensed and only they should be used. Licensed carriers properly document the waste’s journey to its legal end, and so reduce the risk of fly-tipping.

In 2016/17 we dealt with 1,518 incidents of fly tipping at a cost of £65,087, after a year-on-year increase since 2012/13 when we dealt with 1,518 instances of fly-tipping which cost £53,295 to clear.

To ensure waste is legally disposed of, ask the carrier for their name and address. Check their license at https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers or by calling the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506. If they’re on the database, they can be used. If they’re not, please report them to neo@york.gov.uk so we can investigate. When the licensed carrier collects the waste, ask for a receipt with their name, address and vehicle registration number on it. The waste’s originator can be prosecuted if it is fly-tipped.

A waste carrier’s license is valid for three years, costs £154 and can be applied for at www.gov.uk/waste-carrier-or-broker-registration.

The campaign is also reminding residents of other ways to safely dispose of waste which can’t be taken along with kerbside collections. These include arranging for collections of bulky item by the council by calling on 01904 551551. While there is a charge for this service, up to ten items can be taken, so it’s worth contacting a local residents’ association or neighbours to share the cost and the collection.

Waste can also be taken to Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) at Hazel Court or Towthorpe and booklets of free permits for larger vehicles to carry it can be ordered via www.york.gov.uk/HWRCPermits. Or, recycling banks around the city can be used – see www.recycle-more.co.uk/bank-locator or call 01904 551551 to find where they are located.

The campaign is also promoting recycling reusable household goods with charities including British Heart Foundation, St Leonard’s Hospice, York Community Furniture Store Ltd, Besom in York, many of which will collect for free.
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