Wycombe man pays over £2,400 for illegally dumping one black sack of waste
Nathan Jack Willment (24) of Bank Street, High Wycombe, pleaded guilty at Wycombe Magistrates Court last week (Wednesday 30 March) to an offence of dumping waste illegally.
The court heard that on 5 November 2015 investigators from the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire examined household type waste (which had been reported by a member of the public as having been dumped) at the roadside on Andrew Hill Lane, near Beaconsfield.
The waste was photographed and examined for evidence of origin. Details found within the dumped waste led the investigators to speak to Mr Willment. When cleared by the authorities, the waste approximated to the contents of one black waste sack.
When interviewed at a police station, Mr Willment admitted dumping the waste which he had accumulated as loose items in the passenger foot well of the van he used for work. He said that he had been called by phone to give his boss a lift in the van and had to clean the waste out in order to do that. He expressed remorse for his actions which he freely admitted had been wrong.
The Magistrates fined Mr Willment £1,600 and ordered him to pay clean-up and prosecution costs of £706. A victim surcharge of £120 was also levied, making a total to pay of £2,426.
Mike Smith, Chairman of the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire, said: “For the sake of a bag of rubbish, this individual now has a hefty court bill and a criminal record. It’s a salutary lesson and one I hope deters others from similar behaviour. I am heartened by the fact a member of the public took the time to report this and it just goes to prove how fed up people are with fly-tippers causing unnecessary mess and hazards in our environment. The message is very clear – fly-tip at your peril. We have a superb enforcement team, a vigilant public and we will not hesitate to prosecute whenever possible.”
The case was prosecuted by Buckinghamshire County Council working on behalf of the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire.
The Waste Partnership launched the ‘Illegal Dumping Costs’ campaign in October 2003 to combat illegal dumping and waste management offences in Buckinghamshire. Since then, the Partnership has secured 517 convictions against individuals and companies for illegal dumping and related offences. On average, there is at least one conviction per week for illegal dumping offences in Buckinghamshire. This has resulted in a halving of reported incidents and a saving of over £1 million for residents.
We’ve made reporting fly-tipping easy: upload details including location and photos online or on your mobile at www.buckscc.gov.uk/fly