Men fined for dumping boxes at bring site

TWO men have each been fined £75 for leaving cardboard boxes on the ground at the bring site in Cross Hands.

The council’s environmental enforcement officers were on duty at Cross Hands Co-op when they saw the men unloading boxes from the rear of a car

They watched them deposit a number of bottles into the recycling banks, but then they threw some of the boxes amongst the bins and left a pile of boxes near to where they had unloaded them from the car.

There is a sign at the bring site which clearly advises people not to leave any items on the ground.

The officers approached the men, explained what they had seen and issued them with fixed penalty notices. Failure to pay could lead to prosecution in the magistrates court and a maximum penalty of up to £2,500.

The council hopes these latest fines will act as a warning to others that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated.

Two women were fined in separate incidents for similar offences at the Cross Hands site back in February. People have also been fined at other bring sites across the county.

Executive Board Member for the Environment Councillor Philip Hughes said: “Unfortunately fly-tipping is becoming an increasing problem at our bring sites and we are very disappointed that they are being misused in this way as they are important facilities for communities.

“We want to encourage people to recycle as much of their waste as possible, however, people are dumping all types of waste at the sites and we have also had people leaving their recyclables in plastic bags next to the containers because they are too lazy to empty them into the banks.

“This is littering; it makes the area look unsightly and our officers can fine people for this. I hope people take notice of these latest fines.”

Environmental enforcement officers regularly patrol the sites. More serious offences could lead to fines of up to £50,000 and/or up to five years in prison.