Newark litter lout slapped with £400 fine after admitting to dumping his household rubbish

A Newark litter lout has been slapped with a £400 fine after illegally dumping his household rubbish.

The fly-tip found outside a block of flats in Balderton included food waste, toy packaging and documents — sparking an investigation by Newark and Sherwood District Council.

A number of addresses on the documents traced the rubbish back to the original owner.

He admitted the offence and was given a fixed penalty notice of £400 under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

The district council said its anti fly-tipping campaign Not in Newark and Sherwood has already led to a series of prosecutions and, following relaxation of lockdown measures, the campaign will be re-launched to crack down on even more offenders.

Roger Jackson, council leisure and environment committee chairman, said: “We take fly-tipping very seriously and expect everyone to dispose of their rubbish responsibly.

"As well as the council’s own recycling services and household waste recycling centres, there are plenty of legitimate rubbish removal services that will dispose of your waste legally and responsibly.

"However, only too frequently do we see cases of everyday people, simply looking for a quick way of getting rid of a large amount of waste and attempt to cut corners and flout the law.

"We are absolutely committed to making the district cleaner, safer and greener and this should be enough of a deterrent to anyone who considers fly-tipping.

“In the last year, we have seen a number of successful prosecutions for fly-tipping offences and we will always seek the toughest punishments possible where the evidence supports a prosecution.

"Not only is fly-tipping harmful to the community and the environment, it results in a considerable cost to the public purse to clear up.”

Removing fly-tips in the district costs the taxpayer £55,000 annually.

Since April 2020, 1,429 fly-tips have been removed by the council with a total weight of 372.48 tonnes — almost the weight of 75 elephants.

If paying someone else to remove your rubbish, the council has advised residents to always check for a valid waste carrier’s licence, which can be done easily on the Environment Agency website.

If someone offers to remove your waste, you must make sure they have the appropriate licences to remove it so it will be disposed of responsibly. If you use anybody else, you run the risk of waste being fly-tipped and it will be your responsibility.

You can also use the council's bulky waste collection service for which there is a small charge, or for larger quantities it can provide you with an individual quote.

For bulky or electrical waste, go to www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/bulky/

Report fly-tipping to Newark and Sherwood District Council at www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/transactions/report/