A fly tipper who dumped 3 fridges in a city centre street has been successfully prosecuted by City of Wolverhampton Council.
Two large fridges and a smaller one were tipped in broad daylight in Fold Street by Algirdas Bardauskas, who claimed he was coming back to collect them.
An eyewitness who reported the fly tip will receive a £100 Enjoy Wolverhampton gift card for their actions.
At Dudley Magistrates Court on 19 August, Bardauskas, of Chester Street, pleaded guilty to one charge of depositing controlled waste under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Magistrates fined him £738, ordered a victim surcharge of £295 and awarded full costs of £1,793.16. The costs awarded to the council will be reinvested back into its environmental crime service.
On August 3 last year, at around 2.30pm, a white van was driven into Fold Street. A man was captured on CCTV unloading two fridges from the rear of the vehicle and leaving them on the highway.
He then drove the vehicle out of view and reappeared carrying a third, smaller fridge, which he left with the others.
Following investigations, the council’s environmental crime team were able to trace the vehicle’s registered keeper through DVLA records. It became clear that Bardauskas had borrowed the van from the registered keeper.
Bardauskas was interviewed by council officers and shown images of the fly tipping incident. He admitted that he had been driving the van and had dumped the fridges.
He said he needed the van to be empty for some work he was doing that day but had left the fridges with the intention of collecting them again. He said he returned to the location a week later to collect them again, but they had gone.
Bardauskas apologised for what he had done and said he would accept his punishment.
Councillor Qaiser Azeem, cabinet member for resident services at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “Fly tipping is a blight on our communities and we will not tolerate this kind of irresponsible behaviour in Wolverhampton.
“Our environmental crime team is committed to tracking down and taking action against those who dump waste illegally, and this prosecution demonstrates that offenders will be held accountable for their actions.
“I would like to thank the resident who reported this incident. Information from the public plays a vital role in helping us investigate and bring offenders to justice. I would encourage anyone who witnesses fly tipping to report it to us so that together we can continue to tackle this thoughtless crime.”
An additional £257,146 has also been invested in the council’s environmental crime service this year to fund extra enforcement staff and six more security cameras to be placed at known hot spots across the city.
The council already uses a variety of methods to tackle fly tipping, including CCTV, fines and its Shop a Tipper scheme, where anyone suspected of dumping rubbish has their images shared online to appeal for information to help identify them.
If the information provided leads to successful identification, and Fixed Penalty Notices are issued and paid or a prosecution takes place, residents receive a £100 Enjoy Wolverhampton Gift Card.
Residents can contact 01902 552700 with information or view images and report online at Fly-Tipping.
Residents are reminded that waste can be disposed of free of charge at our Household Waste and Recycling Centres (tips) which are open 7 days a week from 8am to 4pm. Centres are at Anchor Lane, Lanesfield, Bilston and Shaw Road, Wolverhampton.