Fly Tipping
Fly tipping is the illegal dumping of waste in the open air. Mansfield's environment has recently been blighted by a number of incidents where household and commercial waste has been dumped to be cleaned up by the Council at the tax payers' expense. There were 1246 incidents of fly tipping in Mansfield between January 2008 and January 2009.
In the 12 months from February 2008, there have been 27 successful prosecutions of people who have been caught fly tipping or have given their waste to unlicensed waste carriers who have then dumped the waste illegally. These prosecutions have led to total fines of over £3,500.
In a number of high profile prosecutions, fly tippers have been fined up to £500 including costs and have been sentenced to 12 month community orders. A man from Mansfield was recently fined for lending his vehicle to an unlicensed waste carrier which was later used to dump waste in the district.
Operation Maid Marian
Mansfield District Council are currently working closely with the Environment Agency, neighbouring Councils and Nottinghamshire County Council through 'Operation Maid Marian'. Numerous covert cameras have been set up at sites across the District to deter fly tippers from dumping their waste. The operation has seen a number of successful prosecutions as a result of its actions and the scheme will continue to run throughout 2009.
Duty of Care
Every household and business has a duty to dispose of its waste responsibly. Never dump your waste in the open air and if you use a contractor to deal with your waste, make sure they hold a waste carrier licence and ask for a receipt when your waste is collected. Failure to comply with the duty of care can result in a fine of up to £50,000 and 12 months imprisonment. Any vehicle found to be used in the illegal dumping of waste can be seized and crushed.
For more information on the householder duty of care or to check whether a waste carrier is licensed, please contact Mansfield District Council or the Environment Agency (Tel: 08708 506506 or see the link under 'external links' on this page).
For the disposal of household waste and details of Household waste and recycling centres, please see the Nottinghamshire County Council link under 'external links'