TWO Thurrock men have been fined for operating illegal waste disposal services.

William Anderson of Tilbury appeared before Southend Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, 27 October 2020 and was found guilty of carrying waste without a waste carrier's Licence.

He had been stopped as part of a joint operation between Essex Police and Basildon Council to stop vehicles carrying waste and check to see whether they had a license to carry waste.

Anderson was issued with a fixed penalty notice for not producing a waste carrier's licence at the road side. Despite being summoned for non-payment of the fine, he did not attend his court hearing.

Magistrates ordered him to pay a £1,000 fine, costs of £405, and a victim surcharge of £100—bringing the total to £1,505.

In a separate case, Sidney Gasa, of Grays, appeared before the court on the same day charged with transferring household waste to an unauthorised waste carrier.

Gasa stated that he had paid £100 for his waste to be removed, and assumed the waste collectors were legally licenced because they had operated in the neighbourhood for years, advertised in the local paper, and some of his neighbours had used the same waste collectors.

However, it was explained to Mr Gasa that legislation places a householders duty of Care on individuals to ensure that they check any person disposing of waste is authorised to do so, which Gasa had failed to do.

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Gasa pleaded guilty and magistrates ordered him to pay £912—consisting of a £160 fine, victim surcharge of £32, costs of £360, and compensation of £360 towards the Council's costs of clearing up the flytipped waste.

Chairman of Basildon Council's Neighbourhoods and Public Spaces Committee, Cllr David Harrison, said: "We will not tolerate breaking the law in this way in our borough. More than 80% of the borough's acts of fly tipping are from illegally dumped household waste.

"I ask our residents to always ask to see proof that the person taking away your waste is licensed to do so. It is your responsibility to check.

"With our enforcement teams now backed up by CCTV we will—with the public's help—win the battle to clean up our borough.

"You can find registered waste disposal companies and licensed waste carriers here.

"This is a clear message: do the right thing and dispose of your waste legally."