Illegal waste business costs Rotherham man £4,000

A COURT ordered a man to pay out more than £4,000 after he was caught running an illegal waste business.

Dan Burkett (55) admitted seven offences of failing to comply with environmental duty of care requirements.

He asked for 20 others to be taken into consideration and was fined £1,000 plus £3,009 costs.

A large amount of waste including sofas, mattresses, beds, timber and roofing was spotted piled on a Broom Valley Road driveway in 2013.

Council enforcement officers investigated further and found Burkett, of nearby Tooker Road, to be responsible. He failed to produce waste transfer notices.

Cllr Kath Sims, Rotherham Borough Council’s advisory Cabinet member for waste, said the case was a reminder about the pitfalls of using non-licensed waste collectors.

She added: “It might seem very easy to get someone else to take your waste away for a few pounds but the disposal of waste is the personal responsibility of us all.

“We all have a duty of care to ensure that our waste is disposed of correctly and is not dumped by the roadside.

“In fact, householders themselves can be prosecuted if they allow unlicensed ‘man and a van’ type contractors to take away their rubbish and evidence can be traced back to them.”