Fly-tipper who dumped rubbish in Wolverhampton alley ordered to pay £2,719 by Dudley Magistrates Court
A man who dumped household waste in an alley near his home has been ordered to pay £2,719 by magistrates.
Andrei Stoica, of All Saints Road, was tracked down through personal details left in bags of household waste next to a warning poster in an alleyway between All Saints Road and Gower Street in July.
Subscribe to Express & Star Plus now for just £1 a month for 12 months for exclusive content and an ad-free website. Visit expressandstar.com/subscribe for our Black Friday offer
When crews from Wolverhampton Council attended to clear up, they found packaging in the waste which was addressed to Stoica.
This information was passed to the council’s environmental crime team to investigate and officers then visited the address to speak to the occupant.
When they arrived, they saw further bagged household waste had been dumped in the same location. On searching through the waste, officers discovered further packaging addressed to Stoica.
When they visited Stoica at his home, and explained why they were there, he refused to give his name or any information relating to the incident.
Later that month he was issued with a notice under section 108 of the Environment Act 1995, requiring him to attend an interview at the Civic Centre.
When he failed to respond, Wolverhampton Council launched prosecution proceedings, and he was convicted in his absence after failing to attend a hearing at Dudley Magistrates Court on Wednesday last week.
Stoica was found guilty of one obstruction charge under section 110 of The Environment Act 1995 for failing to comply with investigating officers’ requests for assistance.
He was fined £660, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £264 and costs of £1,795.
Wolverhampton Council said the costs awarded would be pub back into its environmental crime service.
Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services, welcomed the verdict.
This is a great result and an example of real partnership work between our environmental teams," he said..
"Thanks to the address details being spotted by our clean-up crew, officers from our environmental crime team were able to track down and prosecute this offender.
“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 recent court action supports ongoing work under the council’s Shop a Tipper campaign where anyone suspected of dumping rubbish will have their images shared 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 report online at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/fly-tipping
Councillor Gakhal added that waste could be disposed of free of charge at the city's tips in Anchor Lane, Bilston, and Shaw Road, Wolverhampton, which are open seven days a week from 8am–4pm. A bulky item collection service to dispose of big unwanted items is also available, find out more at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/recycling-and-waste/book-bulky-item-collection
