Wiltshire Council issues businesses with fines for waste related offences

Wiltshire Council has issued £1,300 in fines to two businesses concerning waste related offences.

On Friday 10 February 2023, Wiltshire Council received a complaint that black refuse bags of waste had been deposited in Royal Wootton Bassett High Street. Enforcement Officers attended the site and obtained evidence to a local business.

The business operator was interviewed under caution and admitted to depositing the waste. They also failed to produce any waste transfer notes for their business that would have shown how they were lawfully disposing of their commercial waste. This resulted in a £400 fine for fly tipping and £300 fine for failing to produce waste transfer notes.

In May 2023, the Council received a report from a member of the public that a groundwork tradesperson from Westbury was operating in Devizes, removing waste without a licence. The business operator was apprehended and requested to produce a valid waste carrier licence and all waste transfer notes relating to the business for the last two years of operating. When interviewed they admitted to not having a valid licence and to disposing of their business waste in their domestic bins or giving it to other persons for disposal. They were fined £300 for failure to produce a valid licence and £300 for failure to produce waste documents (both were reduced to £180 as payment was made within 10 days).

The businesses cannot be named because the Fixed Penalty Notices were paid within the required timescale and are not a conviction in open court.

Businesses have a legal responsibility to ensure that they produce, store, transport and dispose of their business waste without harming the environment, called their 'commercial waste duty of care'. It includes ensuring their commercial waste is not presented for collection as domestic waste, or if they take it away themselves, even if it is only small quantities, that they are registered as a waste carrier.

Both these businesses failed their duty of care by not being able to produce waste transfer notes when requested by the local authority for any of the waste produced in relation to their businesses for the past two years. Waste Transfer Notes must be completed and signed by both the business handing over the waste and the person receiving it. It must contain enough information about the waste for it to be handled safely and either recovered or disposed of legally.

Cllr Caroline Thomas, Cabinet Member for Transport, Street Scene, and Flooding, said: "This is yet another example of the great work our officers do to help combat fly-tipping. By enforcing waste transportation and transfer regulations, businesses and residents will be able to mitigate the risk of waste ending up being fly-tipped."

Residents can report fly-tipping online, or by calling 0300 456 0100.