ENVIRONMENT

Mulch ado about nothing: fined for fly-tipping leaves

Musician told he must pay ?150 after sweeping up leaf litter from the street and scattering it in woods

Sophie Barnes

A PROFESSIONAL pianist has been fined for fly-tipping after sweeping up mulch from the pavement outside his house and scattering it in a wood.

Pianist John Goodall Smith hoped that the leaves he disposed of would decompose

A CCTV camera caught him and he received a ?150 penalty – the same as for dumping non-biodegradable waste such as building rubble.

John Goodall Smith, 56, said: “The council told me leaves are controlled waste and the owner of the land has to pay to have the council come along and collect them and I thought ‘What? ?Garden leaves? They’re not even my leaves!’ I could have swept them over to the other side of the road.

“It doesn’t really encourage people to be decent citizens if you’re going to get penalised by this tick-box mentality which lumps you into this category of being a criminal.

“I was doing a good deed, believing I was taking responsibility, and I’ve ended up falling foul of the law. I didn’t think we were doing anything wrong. It wasn’t like we were fly-tipping – dumping a fridge or a sofa.”

When the musician moved with his wife, Sharon, to a four-bed rental property in Upper Penn, Wolverhampton, on Oct 3 he discovered he didn’t have a garden waste bin.

The couple assumed they wouldn’t need to order one because they didn’t have a back garden. A month later his parking spaces and the pavement outside were covered in leaves from two large trees on the road.

Mr Smith scooped up three bags of leaves but as he had nowhere to put them, he and Sharon, a cake-maker, drove to nearby countryside and left them in a wooded area to degrade.

But council cameras captured him scattering the leaves and, despite not leaving any plastic bin bags, he received a penalty notice of ?200, reduced to ?150 if paid promptly, from neighbouring South Staffordshire council. Mr Smith paid up as he didn’t want it to go to court but said that innocent people were being shamed for small amounts of biodegradable waste.

Fly-tipping costs the UK ?57?million annually with a million incidents recorded every year. Tradesmen who do not want to pay for waste permits are often to blame.

A South Staffordshire council spokesman said leaves counted as waste. She added: “A proactive approach has seen covert cameras installed in areas where fly-tipping has been an issue in South Staffordshire, in a targeted approach to tackling environmental crime.”

Roger Lees, a cabinet member for planning and regulatory services, said the council was working to stop illegal dumping. ?“Fly-tipping is a real blight in rural areas but we are determined to catch those responsible and bring them to account,” he said. “Fly-tipping at any time is irresponsible and shows no regard for the communities it spoils or the people who have to clear it up. But at a time when our public services are doing their utmost to support people through the Covid pandemic these irresponsible actions are unforgivable.

“Fly-tipping is illegal and includes dumping garden waste anywhere, including in hedgerows, grass verges and woodlands.

“Just because it may eventually ?compost down does not make dumping acceptable or permissible and there is simply no excuse so don’t do it, as we will always look to prosecute those responsible for fly-tipping and littering within South Staffordshire.”

?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk

—