Vehilce seized from Ravensthorpe businessman for dumping trade waste

Cases first reported to the council as far back as 2019 have been investigated and are now appearing in the courts.

The council has already had three cases in the Kirklees Magistrates Court in January 2021 for fly-tipping related offences:

Vehicle seized from businessman dumping trade waste in Ravensthorpe

In October 2019, Raja Khan, aged 39, of Calder Road, Ravensthorpe dumped trade waste related to his bed making business on greenspace at Great Pond Street in Ravensthorpe.

The waste was burned over bonfire weekend, but officers managed to get evidence from the waste pile both before and after the burning to link it to Khan. A local resident also provided a registration number for the vehicle used to dump the waste which was later traced back to Khan.

Following an investigation officers were able to seize the vehicle under Section 34(b) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Khan appeared at Kirklees Magistrates Court on January 8 where he pleaded guilty to fly-tipping and failing to provide waste transfer documents.

He was fined £240 and ordered to pay £1,430 to cover legal and waste clearance costs. Magistrates also granted an order forcing Khan to forfeit his vehicle, estimated to be worth £1,000, to the council.

Dewsbury man receives maximum fine of £2,500

Tahir Zaman, 49, of Heckmondwike Road owns land on Caulms Wood Road used by fly-tippers which generated community complaints to the council going back to June 2019.

Officers investigated the reports to identify who owned the land where the rubbish was dumped and made several attempts to contact Zaman with requests to clear it. Following the lack of substantial action to remove the rubbish a community protection notice was served on Zaman on 28 June 19 with requirements to remove the waste by 26 July 2019.

Zaman was not present at the hearing at the Kirklees Magistrates Court on 18 January, but was found to have breached the community protection notice to prevent unreasonable behaviour that is having a negative impact on the local community’s quality of life. He received the maximum fine for the offence of £2,500, plus £900 costs.

End of the road for Caravan abandoned in Milnsbridge

Robert Kaczmarczyk, aged 44, of Redwood Grove, Huddersfield pleaded guilty to fly-tipping and failing to provide waste transfer documents.

Kaczmarczyk dumped the shell of a caravan on Factory Lane, Milnsbridge between November and December 2019.

Investigating officers found documentation in the caravan of the former owner. Following up on their find, investigators discovered the former owner had given the caravan to Kaczmarczyk who made a living stripping caravans for parts which he then shipped back to his native Poland. On this occasion, he had stripped the caravan and towed it from his commercial unit, around half a mile away, to dump it on Factory Lane.

In Kirklees Magistrates Court on 22 January, Kaczmarczyk pleaded guilty to contravening Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and to one count of failing to provide waste transfer documents.

He was fined £288 and ordered to pay costs of £752 to cover clearance and legal costs.

Councillor Naheed Mather, Cabinet Member for Environment said: “There is no excuse for fly-tipping. It’s a criminal offence, causes an unsightly blight on the environment and attracts pests.

“As these cases show, despite COVID-19, we’re pursuing people where we have evidence of an offence and would like to thank those who report incidents to us.

“Fly-tipping comes down to a few people simply not caring about what happens to their waste and the impact dumping it has on others. It’s your waste, and your responsibility to get rid of it in the right way.

“The council’s recycling centres are open, and we also offer a bulky waste collection service. Charities will often collect large items for upcycling and specialist waste can be collected by reputable companies.

“Remember, if you ask someone to remove waste on your behalf you must check they have a valid waste carrier license. Not everyone who offers waste collection services is reputable and they may dump your rubbish. If they do, and our investigators find evidence, you could be prosecuted too.

“We’re always looking at ways in which we can reduce the opportunity to fly-tip, and more recently we've used stronger measures to catch fly-tippers in the action through the use of static and mobile cameras.”

An additional three people living in Kirklees have been issued fines of between £75 and £200 for offences related to littering, fly-tipping and failure to supply waste transfer documents.