Lincolnshire man issues warning after being stung with 'ridiculous fine' for recycling

David Holt, who works at a warehouse unit on Heath Road at Skegness Industrial Estate, was handed a £300 fixed penalty notice after taking some cardboard 600 metres to a nearby recycling centre without the required waste carriers licence.

He has called the fine “ridiculous”, saying he disposes of all waste from the site responsibility – and the lack of a licence to transport a few boxes of cardboard down the road is a “minor oversight”.

However, East Lindsey District Council (ELDC) says its enforcement officers from contractors Kingdom were sent out to the area in response to “complaints from residents and businesses” about fly-tipping on the estate.

"It is ridiculous,” said Mr Holt. “I’ve gone out of my way to be really responsible with the waste. The fine is addressed to me personally, not the company I work for.”

The enforcement team spoke with Mr Holt, who told the officer he recycles everything correctly through a waste management company, but that occasionally any excess cardboard they get is transported down the road to a different company - Carousel Waste and Recycling Ltd.

It was after this admission that Mr Holt was informed he required a waste carriers licence, and was handed a £300 fixed penalty notice (FPN).

“He latched on to that, asking ‘do you have a waste transfer licence for that?’ It felt like they were just looking for a loophole to fine people.

"We dispose of all our waste responsibly. In my opinion, offering a little bit of education would be helping businesses, instead of fining them for a simple oversight when we’re disposing of waste responsibly.

“I was handed a £300 fine, on what is purely a technicality and a minor oversight. I will be appealing.”

Commenting on the general issue at the estate, and not Mr Holt’s specific case, Coun Martin Foster, Portfolio Holder for Operational Services at ELDC, said: “There has been a longstanding fly-tipping issue on the unadopted service road between Alexander Road and Victoria Road on the Skegness Industrial Estate. We have listened and acted on those complaints from local businesses and residents. The council issued notices to businesses in the immediate area requesting evidence of their commercial waste arrangements, delivered educational leaflets to nearby residents on lawful waste disposal and installed CCTV to deter and detect waste offences.

“Before CCTV was installed, the site was repeatedly used for illegal waste disposal, requiring the council's cleansing team to remove multiple loads of waste which led to enforcement action to a different business.

“Under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, businesses have a legal Duty of Care to ensure their commercial waste is stored, transferred and disposed of appropriately.

"Businesses transporting their own commercial waste must ensure they are appropriately registered as a waste carrier and retain Waste Transfer Notes from the receiving facility. These requirements help demonstrate that waste has been disposed of legally under The Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989.”

He added: “We recognise that the vast majority of businesses are complying and our aim is to work proactively with businesses by providing advice and guidance, while taking appropriate action where offences are identified. This approach helps protect the local environment, support responsible businesses and reduce the impact of fly-tipping on the community. The council has also promoted commercial waste responsibilities through business rates correspondence and social media to support businesses in understanding their legal obligations.”

Following Mr Holt’s fine, Carousel Waste and Recycling Ltd posted a public notice on their Facebook page, warning others about the fine and advice on how to get a waste carrier’s licence, adding: “Don’t get caught out like some today with yet another way of relieving hard working people of their hard earned money.”

Commenting on the post, one resident said: “What a joke, getting fined for getting rid of rubbish correctly, no wonder there's so much fly tipping.”