Woman charged £400 three years after her dumped waste was discovered

The waste found by council officers in 2018

A woman from Rochdale has been charged over £400 after pleading guilty to breaching her duty of care almost three years after waste was found dumped by council officers.

Ellesse Donnelly pleaded guilty to one offence contrary to the Environmental Protection Act (1990) at Manchester & Salford Magistrates’ Court on 30 July 2021.

In September 2018, bags of waste were found in the alleyway between Davyhulme Street and Ernest Terrace, Rochdale containing correspondence addressed to Ms Donnelly.

Despite regular contact, Ms Donnelly failed to co-operate with the council’s investigation into the fly-tipping but has now pleaded guilty, admitting to paying an unidentified scrap man £20 to remove eight bags of waste, who then discarded her waste in the alleyway.

Ms Donnelly was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay a costs contribution of £400 and a victim surcharge of £22 for breaching her duty of care – not checking that the man who removed her waste was licensed by the Environment Agency.

Councillor Liam O’Rourke, cabinet member for environment and facilities, said: “Do your checks. What may seem like a great offer from a local waste carrier could land you with charges, even years later.

“These unlicensed carriers will gladly collect waste from you at a low cost, then subsequently get shut of rubbish anywhere. They’ve taken your money, dumped the waste and scarpered - leaving you to pick up the mess left behind.

“Please, take care when booking anyone to remove waste and double-check that they carry the relevant licence.”

If you have any information about fly-tipping or need to check a waste carrier licence visit rochdale.gov.uk/flytipping.

You can also report fly-tipping by calling 0300 303 8884.