We've successfully prosecuted a man for a fly-tipping offence after finding his address in dumped waste.
Dumitru Dragomir, of Botley Road, Hemel Hempstead, pleaded guilty at St Albans Magistrates’ and was ordered to pay a fine of £200 and costs of £552.84.
The Court heard on Wednesday 1 March 2023 that in August 2022, an Environmental Enforcement Officer inspected a fly-tipping report of a box and sacks dumped in a passing place along Holtsmere End Lane, Hemel Hempstead.
Within the waste, correspondence was found including Dragomir's address. We issued him with a £312 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for failing to demonstrate householder duty of care responsibilities when disposing of domestic waste. The FPN was not
paid so we then sought prosecution for the offence.
Pleading guilty, Dragomir said that he had arranged for someone else to dispose of the waste but it was not intended for this to be disposed of unlawfully.
Cllr Julie Banks, Portfolio Holder for Communities, said "We need people to understand that their waste is their responsibility. Anyone offering to take it
away has to be registered to carry waste, or it could end up being fly-tipped, and you could be prosecuted for failing to take reasonable steps to prevent it."
We are part of the The Hertfordshire Fly Tipping Group (HFTG). This is a multi-agency taskforce including the borough, district and county councils as well as Hertfordshire Constabulary, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Herts Fire and Rescue,
the Environment Agency and the National Farmers' Union.
These organisations have come together to improve how Hertfordshire responds to fly-tipping. The HFTG is delivering improvements in enforcement capability across the county, as well as rolling out new technology to assist in identifying and prosecuting
fly-tippers.
The HFTG is also behind the award-winning #SCRAPflytipping campaign, which is used across Hertfordshire to help educate residents, and has been provided to other local authorities across the UK (free of charge) to help promote a consistent message.
