A man has been slapped with a fine after paying £60 to an unnamed man to dump his rubbish, which included letters with his address on. Stephen Howarth’s waste was found dumped in October 2019 on Crimble Lane in Heywood by Rochdale Council officers, with documents found addressed to the 38-year-old's home.
Howarth attended a police interview under caution and admitted paying £60 to an unnamed person to remove the waste, including mattresses and some bags of rubbish. He also admitted in the interview that he had not taken any reasonable steps to see if the person was licenced by the Environment Agency or to obtain any receipt after paying in cash.
At Tameside Magistrates Court last week Howarth, of Daniel Fold, Rochdale, pleaded guilty to an offence contrary to the Environmental Protection Act, and was ordered to pay a fine totalling £262.
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Councillor Liam O’Rourke, the council’s cabinet member for climate change and environment, said: “We cannot stress enough how important it is to do your checks when hiring someone to remove your waste. If waste found can be linked to you, our enforcement officers will be in contact.
“Please, do your checks, or better still, take your waste to one of the local household waste recycling centres or take advantage of a free bulky waste collection for larger items. Why pay out for an unlicensed carrier and then be hit with an unwanted fine.”
Rochdale Council offers two free bulky waste collections of three items per household per year. Any additional items are charged at just £2.50 each.
Collections can be booked at rochdale.gov.uk/bulkywaste up to three weeks in advance. Residents can also check details of a waste carrier's licence or report fly-tipping at rochdale.gov.uk/flytipping or by calling 0300 303 8884.
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