A MAN who threw his bags of rubbish away in a hedgerow has been ordered to pay £675 in fines and costs.

Cherwell District Council’s street cleansing team spotted the 12 bags of waste dumped in a country hedgerow when driving between Kidlington and Bletchingdon in June.

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When removing the rubbish, the council’s environmental enforcement officers uncovered letters and packaging that allowed them to direct their investigation to the Kidlington area.

Bicester Advertiser: Officers found rubbish bags full of rotten food and packaging

An offender was tracked down and pleaded guilty to a duty of care offence in relation to controlled waste at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on November 13.

Councillor Dan Sames, Cherwell District Council’s lead member for clean and green, said: “This incident serves as a warning to those that try to cut corners when needing to dispose of excess waste. It may be tempting to use the services of someone offering to take waste away on the cheap or to dump it by a roadside or in a field but it could end up costing you much more.

“This individual has ended up paying the price in court, when it would have been much cheaper for him to use our kerbside collections, our reasonably priced home and garden excess service, or the county council’s household waste recycling centres.”

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The rubbish that was found included rotting food and packaging and could have been legally disposed of in the council’s kerbside wheelie bins.

The offender was ordered to pay a £200 fine, clean-up and legal costs of £445.28, and a victim surcharge of £30.

Bicester Advertiser:

Illegal waste disposal in a public place is an offence punishable by a fine of up to £50,000 or 12 months’ imprisonment if convicted in a magistrates’ court.

If approached by a scrap dealer, or anyone else offering to remove rubbish, residents should request proof of their licence before allowing them to take the unwanted items away.

Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, residents have a duty of care to ensure their waste is properly disposed of.

Mr Sames added: “We all have an obligation to ensure that we dispose of our rubbish legally and responsibly as it is not only more cost effective but better for the environment as well.”

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