We successfully prosecuted a Birmingham company and its two directors for fly-tipping 1.4 tonnes of domestic waste from a Leominster property in November 2020.
We Remove Any Rubbish Ltd, formerly of Barcheston Road, Birmingham, and its directors, Joshua Taylor-Gates of Hayling Close, Rubery and Karl Brown of Grayling Walk, Birmingham pleaded guilty to five charges at Hereford Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 14 December.
The company and its two directors were each ordered to pay a total of £3,360 in fines and costs, resulting in total penalty of £10,080.
In November 2020, a Leominster resident contacted the company to remove a substantial amount of household waste, including debris from repairs and alterations to the property. Taylor-Gates and Brown loaded the waste onto a tipper truck. But, instead of disposing it at a registered site, they fly-tipped it on Bromyard Downs.
In addition, they charged the home owner £540 for the waste removal, despite having originally quoted £300. Finally, the pair added VAT to the customer’s bill, though their company is not registered for VAT.
The five charges included three fly-tipping offences and two trading standards offences for misleading the customer over the price and having the money paid into a personal account rather than a company account.
David Hough, our trading standards service manager, said:
“In this case not only was the waste fly-tipped but the offenders increased the price from the original quote. Fly-tipping is a serious environmental hazard and, as our photograph shows, it’s a blight on our beautiful county. Every year, tens of thousands of pounds of council tax payers’ money is spent on clearing up fly-tipping and unlawful waste disposal.
“Our community protection team will investigate all unlawful waste disposal and fly-tipping cases. We encourage residents to report fly-tipping on Herefordshire Council’s website or by calling 01432 261761.
“If you believe you have been overcharged, please report it to the Citizens Advice consumer helpline or call 0808 223 1133. There is also more consumer advice available on Herefordshire Council’s website.
Residents and businesses can visit our recycling webpage for information on responsible waste disposal.