Two Women Fined £1,200 After Rubbish Dumped in Stafford Borough Villages

Two women have been hit with fixed penalty notices totalling £1,200 after household rubbish was found illegally dumped in villages across Stafford Borough.

The incidents highlight a strict warning from Stafford Borough Council: residents are responsible for ensuring their waste is disposed of properly, even if they pay someone else to take it away.

The Incidents In the first case, an old mattress, curtain rods, and cardboard boxes were discovered dumped in a layby on the A519 at Hanchurch, in the north of the borough. The waste was traced to a woman from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. She admitted to paying £150 cash to a driver from a removal company she had hired to help with a house move.

In a separate incident, several black bin bags containing household waste were found scattered across fields in the village of Cotwalton, near Stone. This was traced to a woman from Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, who stated she had paid £60 to a man in a pickup truck who knocked on her door offering to remove the rubbish.

The Fines Both women were issued with fixed penalty notices of £600 each for failing to ensure their waste was disposed of properly—an offence under household duty of care regulations.

Enquiries are currently ongoing to locate the drivers responsible for the actual fly-tipping in both cases.

Council Warning Councillor Ian Fordham, Cabinet Member for Environment, warned that using unregistered carriers is a risk that can lead to prosecution.

“It may seem like a cheap alternative paying someone to get rid of your rubbish - but if they are not a registered waste carrier then you leave yourself open to a fine or even prosecution,” he said.

How to Avoid a Fine Residents are urged to follow these tips to avoid breaking the law:

• Check Credentials: Always check if the person offering to take waste is registered on the Environment Agency's public register.

• Ask Questions: Ask specifically where they intend to dispose of the waste.

• Get a Receipt: Always obtain a receipt for the service.

Residents can check for registered waste carriers here: environment.data.gov.uk/public-register