Man fined £200 for fly-tipping shopping trolley and furniture on the Isle of Wight

A man has been fined £200 for fly-tipping along a roadside verge on the Isle of Wight.

Furniture, a gas cannister and other household items were left at different points along Coleman's Lane, near Porchfield.

The council's waste team received several reports of fly-tipping on Monday, March 7, along the verge and in gateways between New Road and Corf Road.

Officials investigated after evidence was found relating to an address on the island.

They were able to find the person responsible, who admitted to throwing away the waste, including a shopping trolley.

The council has since arranged for the rubbish to be cleared and said it "won't tolerate" fly-tipping and littering on the Island.

The council is reminding residents that they are responsible for disposing of their own waste properly and legally by using their household bins or taking the waste to their local household waste recycling site.

For larger loads they can also hire a licensed waste carrier to take the rubbish away, or they can use the council’s own bulky waste collection service.

Natasha Dix, Strategic Manager, Contracts, Waste and Environment, said: "Fly-tipping can be classed as anything from one bag of household rubbish to several van loads of construction material.

"If it is dumped on land that doesn’t have a licence to accept waste, it is fly-tipping and it is illegal.

"Anyone caught fly-tipping could be ordered to pay a £200 fixed penalty notice or the case can be taken to court, where they face an unlimited fine or even imprisonment.

"We know the island has one of the lowest rates of fly-tipping in the South East but we need the public's help to keep it that way.

"One important way to do this is to make sure, when using a waste company to remove waste from your property, that they are a registered and licensed waste carrier.

"Residents can check whether a company has a waste carriers licence on the Environment Agency website."

Councillor Jonathan Bacon, Cabinet Member for Environment, Heritage and Waste, added: "There is absolutely no excuse for fly-tipping and littering.

"Litter and fly-tipping is environmental vandalism. It blights neighbourhoods and the countryside, is a threat to local wildlife and livestock, is a source of pollution and a danger to public health.

"Over the coming months our new litter and fly-tipping task and finish group will be developing a rolling action plan to reduce this menace through community engagement, education, innovation and a review of enforcement.

"We simply won't tolerate fly-tipping and littering on the Island and this group will be looking at how we can reduce instances of both."