Two individuals have been fined and had their vehicles seized after being caught fly-tipping in Kirklees.
Our Greenspace Action Team were alerted by the public to the fly-tipping incidents in Huddersfield and Heckmondwike. The team was able to track down the offenders from CCTV footage.
Curt Gurog from Rawthorpe, who was operating under the businesses Curt’s Landscaping and Beautiful Gardens, was caught on CCTV on two occasions fly-tipping. This was approximately three tons of garden and building waste in the disposal bays at Hey Lane Cemetery, Almondbury. He was identified by his vehicle registration.
Richard Lawn from Leeds had taken a payment of £230 from an unsuspecting Kirklees resident to dispose of some household waste. This included old flooring and packaging from new kitchen appliances. However, instead of disposing of it legally, he dumped it on Smithies Lane, and Church Street in Heckmondwike.
Curt Gurog, 2/6/87 of Rawthorpe, attended Huddersfield Magistrates Court on Monday 8 January 2024. He pleaded guilty to three offences under Sec 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Namely two offences of failing to comply with his duty of care in relation to the transfer of his business waste, and an offence of failing to provide waste transfer notes.
He was fined £1339, with a Victim Surcharge of £536, and was ordered to pay clearance and legal costs totalling £1670. His Ford Transit Tipper which was caught on CCTV was seized, found to be unroadworthy and destroyed by the council.
Richard Lawn, 28/11/1983 of 23 The Heights, Leeds, attended Huddersfield Magistrate Court on Monday 8 January 2024. He pleaded guilty to two offences under Sec 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (fly-tipping).
He was fined £1,400, £560 Victim surcharge and ordered to pay clearance and legal costs of £1,269. His Citroen Picasso was seized and disposed of by the Council.
The resident of Sharpe Street in Heckmondwike was issued a Fixed Penalty Notice fine of £200 for failing to ensure the safe transfer of his household waste.
Councillor Aafaq Butt, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said:
“I hope that these prosecutions will reinforce our zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping in Kirklees. Our communities should not be blighted by people who think they can dump waste on our streets and greenspaces, to the detriment of residents, wildlife, and the environment.
“Following previous incidents of fly-tipping at Hey Lane Cemetery, which should be a place for quiet contemplation to pay respects to loved ones, we installed CCTV to catch offenders, which has proved fruitful in this case and will hopefully deter others from offending in the future.
“The Heckmondwike case highlights the importance of checking private companies who are collecting waste. They should be registered with the environment agency and have paperwork showing their full contact details and a description of the waste taken. It also helps if residents take the vehicle registration the waste carrier uses to help officers trace the waste if it ends up being fly-tipped.”
Anyone spotting fly-tipping or wanting to report an incident to the council can do so here: Report flytipping in Kirklees