Newark and Sherwood District Council issues over 40 fines and has two prosecutions for environmental offences

Newark and Sherwood District Council continues to crack down on environmental offences and residents are urged to be cautious when using third parties to dispose of their waste.

The warning from the council comes after a string of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) and two successful prosecutions were issued over the last few months.

During January and February, the council’s environmental officers have successfully prosecuted two fly-tipping offenders in court and have also issued 44 FPNs, including 28 for fly-tips and three for abandoned vehicles.

Other offences included breach of community protection notices and failure to produce waste transfer notes.

Roger Jackson, chairman of the council’s leisure and environment committee said: “Environmental offences are a stain on our community. Our teams are constantly working to remove any fly-tips and abandoned vehicles while ensuring perpetrators are issued with the rightly deserved punishment in an attempt to discourage repeat offending and to act as a deterrent for others who may be tempted to do the same.

"But while we are removing those fly tips, we cannot be doing work elsewhere in the district.”

The authority has advised those who ignore the law and fly-tip waste could be fined heavily, up to £50,000, and in severe cases even receive a prison sentence.

If the case is taken to the crown court the fine is unlimited and could result in up to five years in prison.

Not only is it illegal to fly-tip waste yourself, but you are also committing an offence if you use an illegal removal service and the waste is not properly disposed of.

Mr Jackson said: “We must all work together to create a cleaner, safer, greener Newark and Sherwood and we urge the public to be our eyes and ears too in reporting suspicious activity and helping identify perpetrators who are selfishly spoiling our local environment.

“I really want to encourage you all to report abandoned vehicles and fly-tips to us so that we can remove them and start an investigation as to where they have come from.

“I want to further encourage all residents to be cautious when removing their waste, especially if paying a third party to do so. If you are ever in doubt visit our website for more information. Our warning today is that we are cracking down on fly-tipping and will ensure no stone is unturned in trying to find the perpetrators.

"Be warned, offenders will pay for their crimes.”

The council provides a disposal service aimed solely at businesses. For more details click here.

It also offers a bulky waste collection service for which there is a small charge, or for larger quantities you can be provided with a quote. For more details click here.

Alternatively, residents are able to use the household waste and recycling centres.

In the case of vehicles any old vehicles should be taken to an authorised scrap yard. It is an offence to abandon a vehicle or parts of a vehicle on any land and a person convicted of this offence can also be issued a fixed penalty ticket for £200 instead of taking court action for this offence. They could also potentially face imprisonment.

Report an abandoned vehicle or fly-tipping here.