Takeaway served with massive fines for flytipping

Square Apple, of White Abbey Road, Bradford, have been hit with a £12,000 fine after pleading guilty to illegally dumping their waste outside of a set of garages in Seacroft.

The business could not explain how their rubbish, which was made up largely of empty takeaway boxes and overflowing black bags, had ended up there.

They could not provide information about the person responsible for their waste being littered outside of the garages either.

Represented by Alam Zeb, who appeared on behalf of the takeaway, Square Apple was taken to Leeds Magistrates Court on 9 September 2019.

They were prosecuted under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, being served with a £12,000 fine which they will repay in £700 monthly instalments. The magistrates said that responsibility laid on the shoulders of the Bradford-based business, and found their actions to lie somewhere between deliberate and reckless.

If you see any flytipping, make a note of the following: the date and time of the incident; where you saw it; what type of rubbish and how much of it there was; and descriptions of the people and vehicles involved.

You can then get in touch with us via the LCC web site: https://www.leeds.gov.uk/residents/environmental-health/flytipping-and-waste-issues, the council’s one stop centres or by phone on: 0113 2224406, and we will remove the waste and investigate.

Councillor Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council’s executive member of environment and active lifestyles, said:

“We do not tolerate flytipping of any kind, and encourage residents to report any instances of illegal dumping they see across the city. By working with communities, we can swiftly remove the rubbish which interferes with people’s everyday lives and harms the environment, and take action against the offenders. The heavy fine handed out in this case is proof of how seriously we want to stamp out this sort of behaviour, and hope this gives people food for thought before recklessly dumping their rubbish.”