‘No excuse’ - Fly-tipper fined for dumping suitcase and carpet said his black bin was stolen

A man fined for fly-tipping said he left a carpet and suitcase out on the street because his black bin had been stolen. But South Gloucestershire Council has said there was ‘no excuse’ for the leaving of the rubbish in Kingswood on February 21.

Arsid Hoxhaj, 27, of Carpenters Lane in Keynsham, was fined £416 and billed with £679 in clear-up costs after he pleaded guilty to fly-tipping. He must also pay £56 in compensation and a £42 victim surcharge making a total of £1,193.

Hoxhaj was caught out when officers from the council’s street enforcement team discovered an address label in the rubbish next to a lamppost in Hall Road in Kingswood which led them to his address, the court heard.

In interview, Hoxhaj said he left the rubbish - a carpet/rug and a suitcase - during a house move. He said he placed it there due to the theft of his black bin, which he did not report for a replacement.

He confirmed that he had no permission to fly-tip his waste at the location, but that he was unaware of the other means by which he could discard of his waste and his expectation was that the council would remove it.

Councillor Rachael Hunt, cabinet member responsible for environmental enforcement at South Gloucestershire Council, said: “There is no excuse for fly-tipping, it has a negative impact on our communities and local environment, and we all have a responsibility to make sure that our waste is disposed of in the appropriate manner.

“In this case, taking the rubbish to the local recycling centre would have meant it was disposed of lawfully. It’s simply unacceptable to carelessly dump waste in this way and expect others to clear the mess left behind.

“Our zero-tolerance approach means that anyone who fly-tips in South Gloucestershire is five times more likely to be prosecuted than anywhere else in the country. Our award-winning environmental enforcement team has a 100 per cent record of securing successful prosecutions for this type of offence and if you fail in your duty of care and allow rubbish to be fly-tipped here, you can expect to be caught and brought before the courts.”

Unwanted goods and household or garden waste can all be disposed of at no cost via the council’s Sort It recycling centres www.southglos.gov.uk/sortitcentres