A man who dumped one black sack containing his own household waste in a layby in Denham has an unlikely claim to fame as he becomes the first person in the county to be issued with a £1,000 fixed penalty notice for fly-tipping.
The new fixed penalty rate was introduced by Buckinghamshire Council in December to create a greater deterrent to people from wilful and deliberate illegal dumping of waste in the county.
The man from Bracknell, Berkshire, stopped in the layby and dumped the sack on the A412 on 20 December 2023, just two days after Buckinghamshire Council agreed and implemented the new higher penalty rate. He waited until he thought the coast was clear and then dumped the sack at the roadside behind the car he was driving. A traffic monitoring camera captured his actions and identified the vehicle.
When traced and interviewed by Buckinghamshire Council investigators, the man said he had been feeling unwell and the smell from the sack was overpowering. All the waste in the sack (mainly drinks containers and wrappers) could have been freely recycled either at home or at a council recycling centre.
Thomas Broom, Buckinghamshire Council's Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment said: "Buckinghamshire Council is determined to demonstrate its Zero Tolerance of fly-tipping, whether it be commercial criminal dumping or the kind of low-level stupidity we see in a case like this; we want to send a clear message to people that it will not be tolerated, and we will pursue you."
Thomas explained: "For these lower-level cases, the offender's admission means we can now deal with it at the fixed penalty level rather than prosecuting the case at court, meaning our officers are able to focus their efforts on more prolific offending. The culprit has paid the £1,000 and avoided court but is out of pocket by a large amount of money and will hopefully think twice about doing something like this again."
Thomas continued: "The laybys on the A412 are regularly subjected to fly-tipping and the ditches can become clogged with dumped waste. These ditches are meant to allow surface water drainage to maintain a safe surface for road users and should not be viewed as a dumping ground. The required traffic control measures to allow safe removal of dumped waste from fast roads presents council tax-payers with a bill of tens of thousands of pounds annually."
If you have evidence showing an offence taking place and you are willing to provide a witness statement, please contact the council's Enforcement Team at: SCRAPflytipping@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
To report fly-tipping anywhere in Buckinghamshire visit: www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/fix-my-street
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