Former Hemel resident ordered to pay court costs of more than £1,000 for 'fly-tipping'

The council's Environmental Enforcement Team successfully prosecuted Mary Anne Talactac at St Albans Magistrates’ Court, on Wednesday, February 5, for a Duty of Care offence in relation to fly-tipping.

In February 2018, correspondence linked to Ms Talactac was found in three bags of waste fly-tipped next to garages in Harlow Court, Grovehill, Hemel Hempstead close to her address.

As there were no witnesses to the fly-tipping, and no further information about how it got there, Ms Talactac, was sent letters inviting her to attend an interview at the council offices.

Ms Talactac did not make any contact with the council, so after further checks, the council decided to prosecute Ms Talactac for failing in her duty of care to make sure her waste was handled responsibly.

Ms Talactac, now a former resident of Grovehill, Hemel Hempstead, pleaded guilty to a charge under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and was ordered to pay costs of £1,039.96, a victim surcharge of £21 and was also given a 12 month conditional discharge.

Cllr Alan Anderson, portfolio holder for Environmental Services, said: “We need people to understand that their waste is their responsibility.

"Anyone offering to take it away has to be registered to carry waste, or it could end up fly-tipped, and you could be prosecuted for failing to take reasonable steps to prevent it.

"If you see fly-tipping, please report it via our online reporting tool by visiting www.dacorum.gov.uk/flytipping.”

Dacorum Borough Council is part of the The Hertfordshire Fly Tipping Group (HFTG). This is a multi-agency taskforce including the borough, district and county councils as well as Hertfordshire Constabulary, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Herts Fire and Rescue, the Environment Agency and the National Farmers' Union.

These organisations have come together to improve how Hertfordshire responds to fly-tipping, the HFTG is delivering improvements in enforcement capability across the county, as well as rolling out new technology to assist in identifying and prosecuting fly-tippers.

The HFTG is also behind the award-winning #SCRAPflytipping campaign, which is used across Hertfordshire to help educate residents, and has been provided to other local authorities across the UK (free of charge) to help promote a consistent message.