Crawley Borough Council warning: Man fined after waste fly-tipped in residential area

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 the 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.

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 production notices served to him by the deadline so, on December 14, 2021, two fixed penalty notices of £300 each were issued for failure to provide the required information.

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 January 21, 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 him in respect of the allegations, no comments were made, no documentation was provided and no penalties were paid.

He failed to attend the first hearing date on July 19, 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 August 8, 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 said: “This case demonstrates our desire to crackdown hard on fly-tipping.

“Not only does it look unsightly, but it also 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.

Anyone who needs to dispose of their household waste can do so at Crawley’s recycling centre. To use the centre, you will need to book a slot. Here is where you can do so: https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/land-waste-and-housing/waste-and-recycling/recycling-and-waste-prevention/recycling-centres/crawley-recycling-centre/

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For more information about the Community Wardens visit: crawley.gov.uk/wardens