Two men have been fined after their 'large-scale' fly-tipping in Glasgow was exposed.
Stuart Allison, 53, the director of a 'Man with a Van' business, and his employee Steven Hutton, 44, were caught dumping household waste on Dalsetter Crescent in Drumchapel.
Glasgow City Council environmental health officers visited the dead-end street which is within a business development site on July 14, 2020, and found a large number of tyres and household waste. They were able to seize items of correspondence with names and addresses from the household waste.
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Police officers attended three addresses and spoke with householders who said they had hired a 'Man with a Van' via Facebook. It was found they had made payments to Stuart Allison’s bank account or paid Steven Hutton in cash to remove unwanted household items such as a sofa, bed, washing machine, dryer, television, dolls house and a hoover.
CCTV footage from a nearby business also showed two vans involved in the dumping of unauthorised household waste both of which were traced back to Allison.
Police attended the homes of Allison, of Bearsden, and Hutton, of Coatbridge, in December 2020 and seized several electronic devices including iPhones and arrested both men.
During interview, Allison confirmed he was the director of four businesses including a 'Man with a Van' business and that neither he nor his companies held a waste management licence.
He said he had several Facebook profiles which he used to advertise and contact prospective clients and that he was responsible for arranging Hutton’s work.
While in custody Hutton confirmed that he had worked for his cousin Allison but had recently been sacked. He also stated to police that he 'had dumped wasted in nearly every street with a dead end in Glasgow'.
Analysis of the phones revealed numerous discussions on the uplift and disposal of household waste detailing enquiries, pricing, and the logistics of disposal of waste from individual jobs.
There were references to rubbish being taken to the dump and ‘dump runs’ but some messages showed that Allison knew Hutton was on occasion fly-tipping the waste rather than disposing of it lawfully.
The fiscal told the court that on the evening of July 24, 2020, much of the waste at Dalsetter Crescent was consumed by fire. There is no suggestion that Allison or Hutton were involved in the fire.
After the fire, the debris consisted of 51 tonnes of tyres and 17 tonnes of household waste. Glasgow City Council cleansing staff believed the volume of waste was significantly reduced by the fire.
The site clearance required 10 operators, a JCB shovel and operator and five artic lorries. The total cost of the operation to the public purse was estimated to be £10,000. Most of this estimated cost is related to the removal and lawful disposal of tyres.
Allison and Hutton were not responsible for dumping the tyres. Another individual has previously been convicted and imprisoned in relation to dumping the tyres.
The cost for removal of the household waste was approximately £1,900.
Stuart Allison was fined £750 and ordered to pay compensation of £1,900 to Glasgow City Council for the clean-up.
His employee Steven Hutton was fined £750. Both had previously pled guilty to an environmental breach.
Speaking after the sentencing, Fiona Caldwell, who leads on wildlife and environmental crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said: “Fly-tipping causes the public real and legitimate concern. It is criminal behaviour which creates an eyesore and is costly to clear up and one that the local council must often carry.
“The deliberate and criminal actions of Stuart Allison and Steven Hutton show a clear disregard for the environment and undermines legitimate waste management companies.
“There is no excuse for illegal dumping of waste and, as with this case, where there is sufficient evidence of a crime and if it is appropriate and in the public interest to do so, we will prosecute.”
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