A Bolton man has been ordered to pay almost £2,500 after dumping 24 bags of rubbish on the street.
Mihai Cristea of South Street failed to attend Bolton Magistrates Court on Monday, October 31 after being prosecuted for two fly tipping offences and was fined £1,320 and ordered to pay £1,176 costs in his absence.
The court heard how three black bin bags of waste were found dumped at the back of Alston Street, Great Lever, with a further 21 bags dumped at the back of South Street.
Documents inside the bags led enforcement officers to Mr Cristea’s address. He was initially handed a fixed penalty notice which remained unpaid.
The prosecution comes after a full council meeting in September heard Bolton is battling a fly-tipping ‘epidemic’ with more than 200 cases a month reported since a ‘zero tolerance’ crackdown on those dumping waste was announced last year.
Less than five per cent of those cases have resulted in a fine or court summons.
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Councillors heard that sine February, 2021, 3,722 cases of fly-tipping have been recorded by Bolton Council.
Fixed penalty fines have been issued to culprits just 144 times in that period, with another 22 alleged fly-tippers being summoned to attend magistrates court after prosecution.
Bolton Council’s deputy leader, Coun Hilary Fairclough, said: “Fly-tipping is a criminal offence, an eyesore and simply unacceptable.
“It costs local taxpayers’ money to clear up the mess when this money could be better spent in other areas.
“These fines send a clear message that fly tipping will not be tolerated.
“We remind residents and businesses to take responsibility for disposing of their own waste lawfully and if using waste removal services, you must ensure they are licensed.”
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