The owner of a waste firm has been fined after pleading guilty to Duty of Care offences that led to rubbish being fly-tipped in Pucklechurch.
Ian Cundick, 30, of Bences Lane, Corsham, was fined £2,250 and ordered to pay £1,097.60 costs at Northavon Magistrates’ Court last Thursday following an investigation by South Gloucestershire Council’s environmental crime enforcement team.
The court heard that Mr Cundick had been transporting waste without the relevant waste transfer notes, and depositing and storing controlled waste at a site not licensed for that purpose. This ultimately led to the rubbish being fly-tipped in South Gloucestershire by an unknown source.
Mr Cundick is the sole proprietor of a scrap metal and waste company trading under the name Magic Rubbish Clearance. In December 2013, he called at a family-run garage and car sales business in Redland, Bristol and was paid to remove numerous black bin liners and other ancillary waste from the garage premises. Instead of disposing of the waste properly, Cundick stored it at a premises he had rented at Oakfield Industrial Estate in Kingswood. These premises were then re-let early this year, with the stored rubbish still in place.
A case is also being brought against the tenant who took over the unit and disposed of the rubbish which was found fly-tipped in Feltham Lane, Pucklechurch, and also at Uplands Lane, Keynsham.
South Gloucestershire Council’s environmental protection team leader Chris Gillett said: “Legislation is in place to ensure that all people and companies producing, handling or disposing of waste do so properly. The Duty of Care requirement ensures a paper trail that follows the waste from the producer to the eventual place of disposal.
“Waste firms must ensure every load of waste they receive or pass to others is covered by a waste transfer note. The only exception is when they receive household waste directly from the householder who produced it, but they will need a waste transfer note when they pass that waste to someone else. This legislation is specifically designed to be a disincentive for fly-tipping.
“Investigations are still be carried out to identify the people who were responsible for fly-tipping the waste. This sort of behaviour is not tolerated in South Gloucestershire.”
Unwanted goods and household or garden waste can all be disposed of at no cost via the council’s Sort IT!* centres.
Residents who witness illegal waste disposal are encouraged to report it by contacting the Street Care helpdesk on 01454 868000.
