City of Wolverhampton Council has successfully prosecuted a waste carrier after a large amount of household rubbish was found dumped in the city.
Mattresses, household rubbish, lengths of wood and bagged waste were found strewn on land at Meldon Drive in Bilston on 18 February last year.
Packaging found in the abandoned waste meant environmental crime officers were able to investigate, and the trail led to waste carrier Jordan Delaney.
Delaney, of Dimmocks Avenue, Dudley, was prosecuted and pleaded guilty to four charges at Dudley Magistrates Court on 11 March. He was fined £400 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £160 and costs of £3,652.23.
Charges related to two offences under the Environmental Protection Act, one under the Environment Act and one under the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act.
The investigation started when packaging was found in the dumped waste addressed to a property in Telford. Officers wrote to the person named who said they had vacated a rented property and left the items behind for the landlord to dispose of.
The landlord used a company called Jordan Delaney Removals which advertised on social media. The landlord provided photographs of the waste being removed along with a series of messages between him and Delaney.
On 15 May, Delaney was interviewed by officers about the incident. He said he recognised the waste discovered dumped at Meldon Drive but did not recognise the location.
He stated that he had been paid £1,200 by the Telford property owner for removing the waste but had then used an associate to carry out the removal. He admitted he was present during the clearance.
Delaney said he had paid the third party £180 per load to remove the waste, and two or three loads were taken from the Telford address. He refused to provide a name or address for third party, or the registration details of the vehicle used to transport the waste.
Delaney said that no checks were done to see where the third party would take the waste or whether they had a Waste Carriers Licence.
Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “This was quite an involved case for our environmental crime team and shows the importance of being aware of potential pitfalls when dealing with waste carriers.
“In this case, the offender admitted that he carried out no checks on the third party involved. He accepted that he didn’t know where the waste he had been paid to take had actually ended up.
“We continue to work hard to prevent fly tipping and other environmental crimes. Suspected offenders should be aware that they are being watched and we are doing all we can to track them down.”
The council is advising residents to follow this advice when booking a waste carrier:
Ask for a waste carrier registration number
Check it on the Environment Agency’s public register at or call 0300 065 3000. Please select the ‘upper tier’ option. By entering ‘Wolverhampton’ into the address box, you can also view the complete register
Check you’ll get a receipt
The recent court action supports ongoing work under the council’s Shop a Tipper campaign where anyone suspected of dumping rubbish will now have 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.
A bulky item collection service to dispose of big unwanted items is also available, find out more at Bulky item collection