A Langley Green man has been fined a total of £600 after rubbish he collected was dumped near to where he lived.
Abdul Rehman, 47, of Lark Rise, collected waste that was discovered fly-tipped at communal garages in Martyrs Avenue.
The contents of the fly-tip led Crawley Borough Council to uncover where the rubbish had come from – and who had been paid to remove it.
The council’s Neighbourhood Services team referred the fly-tip for investigation and cleared the rubbish.
Paperwork found in the domestic waste led the council’s Community Wardens to an address in Tilgate, where the resident confirmed from the description and photos of the fly-tipping that the waste was his and that he hired and paid Mr Rehman to clear, transport and dispose of the waste.
Based in the Heart of Crawley
Although it couldn’t be proved who had dumped the rubbish, Mr Rehman had neither a waste transfer note nor certification of his licence to transport waste. These are offences under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989.
In December 2021, Mr Rehman was served with:
A Requirement to Produce Authority to Transport Controlled Waste Notice
A Requirement to Produce Written Information Regarding a Waste Transfer notice
An MG4 Notice of Consideration of Proceedings and Invitation to Comment and Voluntary Postal Statement Under Caution Form, requesting an explanation of the fly-tip incident.
Mr Rehman did not respond to the production notices by the deadline so, on 14 December 2021 two Fixed Penalty Notices of £300 each were issued for failure to provide the required information.
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Mr Rehman did not complete and return the MG4 Notice and did not pay the two FPNs. A second MG4 Notice was issued to him on 21 January 2022 requesting he provide an explanation for his actions and failure to produce the documents.
Mr Rehman did not respond to this MG4 Notice either. Therefore, no contact was made by Mr Rehman in respect of the allegations, no comments were made, no documentation was provided and no penalties were paid.
Mr Rehman failed to attend the first hearing date on 19 July 2022. Following the issue of a warrant by the court, he was arrested and placed in custody for two nights.
Mr Rehman attended Crawley Magistrates’ Court on 8 August 2022 and pleaded guilty to both offences. He was fined £300 for each offence, ordered to pay prosecution costs of £989 and a victim surcharge of £60.
Councillor Gurinder Jhans, Cabinet member for Environmental Services and Sustainability, said: “This case demonstrates our desire to crackdown hard on fly-tipping.
“Not only does it look unsightly, it costs the taxpayer money and has a detrimental effect on our environment. We will investigate incidents and punish anyone found guilty of fly-tipping.”
The council’s Community Wardens investigate incidents of fly-tipping and work with the Corporate Investigations Team to catch and prosecute the people involved.
For more information about the Community Wardens visit crawley.gov.uk/wardens