Woman fined after her household waste was left dumped next to litter bin

A WOMAN has been fined by Tameside magistrates after her household waste was found dumped next to a litter bin in Ashton.

The court heard that a Tameside Council street cleaner found black bin bags of rubbish left flytipped next to a litter bin on Pottinger Street on 29 May 2024

The street cleaner reported it to the flytipping enforcement team, who traced  the waste to Lucy Connolly of Park Lane, Oldham.

A Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) was issued to Ms Connolly, offering her an opportunity to pay a fixed penalty of £200 instead of being prosecuted in court. However the FPN was not paid and as a result the matter was taken to Tameside Magistrates Court.

Ms Connolly attended court on 29 January 2025 and told magistrates that she had paid a friend of the family to remove the waste and she had no idea that he would simply dump the waste. 

She pleaded guilty to a breach of duty of care to transfer household waste only to an authorised person under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and was ordered to pay £350 clean up costs to the council. 

Tameside Council Executive Member for Environmental Services and Neighbourhoods Cllr Laura Boyle said: “This case is a reminder to householders that they have a duty of care to dispose of their waste responsibly. If you hand your waste over to someone who is not licensed to dispose of waste and who then dumps it illegally, you could be liable to prosecution. 

“Always check if the person you are paying to remove your waste has an appropriate licence and can provide you with waste transfer notes. It is also useful to record the vehicle details, including the registration number, and note a description of the people involved.

“Flytipping is our blight on our communities and ruins the appearance of or neighbourhoods and we will always take action where we find evidence of those responsible. This is our second waste prosecution already this year and we’ve issued 35 fixed penalty notices. Last year we carried out 16 prosecutions and issued 345 fixed penalty notices for waste related offences. I would like to thank the teams involved in this diligent work on behalf of our local communities.”

You can check whether a waste carrier is licensed on the Environment Agency website here - Waste Carriers, Brokers and Dealers

For further information on flytipping, reporting issues and providing evidence see www.tameside.gov.uk/flytipping