A Newtown builder has been fined £200 after council officials tracked him down after dumping waste in a layby.
The builder, who has not been named by Powys County Council, dumped waste in a layby at Forden, near Welshpool. A member of the public reported the fly-tipping and the council’s Waste Awareness and Enforcement Team issued the fixed penalty after investigating.
During the investigation, intelligence that linked the waste to the offender was found amongst four black bags of domestic waste. The offender was issued with a £400 fixed penalty notice.
The man accepted the fixed penalty notice and paid £200 as an early repayment option is available if the fine is paid within 14 days.
Seven fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping offences have now been issued since the Welsh Government approved the Unauthorised Deposit of Waste (Fixed Penalties) (Wales) Regulations 2017 last November.
The team are now warning people that they are stepping up their enforcement activities and anyone found fly-tipping could be issued with a fixed penalty notice or prosecuted in more serious cases.
Cllr Phyl Davies, Cabinet Member for Recycling and Waste, said: “We want to make Powys a welcoming place for our residents and visitors and this starts by having a clean environment.
“The majority of residents and businesses already recycling and dispose of their waste in the correct way. However, there are those who blight our communities with their selfish actions by fly-tipping their waste.
“We need to reinforce the message that fly-tipping is a criminal offence that harms the environment and costs taxpayers money when it has to be cleared up. We will clamp down on those who dispose of their waste illegal by stepping up our enforcement activities.
“We hope this will act as a warning to show that we will investigate this anti-social behaviour and take the appropriate enforcement action.”
Photo: The rubbish left at the lay-by by a Newtown builder
