TWO people have been fined after their rubbish was dumped on the roadside by flytippers.

One resident has been fined more than £600 while another received fines totalling more than £1,000.

Both were fined under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, with one dumping rubbish outside a neighbour’s property, while the other paid for her rubbish to be taken away, but could not remember who she had paid.

On August 21, a report was received that Bobbie-Louise Sullivan, of Kings Road, Chelmsford, had left a pile of household waste including nappies and food waste in the street outside a neighbour’s house.

The case went to Colchester Magistrates Court on Thursday November 1, where Ms Sullivan pleaded not guilty to offences of flytipping and breaching a Section 108 requirement to attend the council’s offices for interview.

She was found guilty and fined £480, plus a victim surcharge of £48, court costs of £400 and £220 for failure to attend.

Earlier in the year during March, the council received reports of two flytips in Danbury: one in Spring Elms Lane and the other in Backwarden Nature Reserve.

Evidence was retrieved from both flytips relating to Karen Vidler of Chaucer Road, Havering.

Ms Vidler stated in interview that she had passed her waste to someone.

But could not remember who and could not account for how the items became flytipped.

On 8 November, Ms Vidler was prosecuted for failing to uphold her duty of care.

Pleading guilty, she received a fine totalling £610.

In Chelmsford, any waste not placed into a black bin cannot be collected by the council.

Councillor Malcolm Sismey, Cabinet Member for Waste Management and Recycling, said: “Household recycling centres, registered waste carriers and household collections all exist so that there is no need to abandon our waste in places where it creates a nuisance for others and a danger to wildlife.

“Irresponsible disposal of household waste also comes at a cost to taxpayers – we spend around £1.4million each year clearing the streets of litter and fly-tips.

“The black bin is only for non-recyclable waste and should easily be enough for two weeks.

“If everyone left their rubbish outside of the bin, it would attract wildlife who tear the bags open and quickly become unpleasant for neighbours, which is why most councils now discourage it.”

If residents have an unusual amount of waste, for example after a house move, they can take it to their nearest Recycling Centre for Household Waste.

If the public need to hire a third party, warnings suggest asking them to provide their full address and phone number, check that they have a licence issued by the Environment Agency or Natural Resources Wales, and always get a receipt to protect the public if the waste is dumped illegally.

Councillor Susan Sullivan, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities, said: “Chelmsford City Council always prosecutes where we find evidence that someone has fly-tipped waste.

“If you aren’t sure what to do with your rubbish, please call us for advice – don’t flytip and don’t give it to an unlicensed carrier or you could end up facing a fine.”

You can check the Environment Agency’s public register of all licensed waste carriers at https://environment.data.gov.uk.

For help and advice or to order recycling containers, visit www.chelmsford.gov.uk/recycling.