Prosecuted after paying man £10 to take waste away

A Llanelli resident has been prosecuted after paying a man £10 to take waste from his partner’s home. The waste was the tipped in a town lane.
Llanelli Magistrates Court was told that on Wednesday May 11 last year a Carmarthenshire County Council environmental enforcement officer went to the rear of Havelock Street, Llanelli, following a report that waste including a propane tank and some timber had been illegally deposited in the lane.
On inspecting the lane the officer saw a number of refuse bags and a pushchair had also been deposited along with the propane tank and wood. On searching the contents of the bags the officer recovered a letter addressed to a house in Firth Road, Llanelli. Photographs were taken of the waste and of the document found in the bags.
On May 18 the officer called at the property in Firth Road and spoke to the occupier who confirmed that she had waste removed from her property but was unsure as to who had removed the waste as her partner had arranged it without her knowledge.
Officers later interviewed her partner, 37-year-old Justin Richard Lloyd, of 6, Y Bwthyn, Llanelli, and he confirmed that he had paid a man £10 to remove waste from his partner’s property. He had spoken to him at the local shop. The waste removed included carpets, a mattress and a drawer unit. He was unable to say how the bags ended up in the lane.
He was unable to provide the name or address of the man who had collected the waste. He made no enquiries as to where the waste was to be deposited and also confirmed that he made no enquiries as to whether or not the person he gave the waste to was a licensed waste carrier.
Lloyd pleaded guilty to an offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. He was fined £140 and order to pay £221.16 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.
County council executive board member for environmental and public protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “If residents have excess household waste to dispose of they must make sure that anyone they use to remove that waste is properly authorised to carry waste. If they don’t and their waste is found fly-tipped then they too could be prosecuted and fined.”
The council has a number of sites throughout the county for disposing of household waste and recycling and also operates a bulky waste collection service. For further information visit the council website or call Carmarthenshire Direct on 01267 234567.