The council’s Don’t Mess With Croydon – Take Pride campaign has now prosecuted 143 fly-tippers and litterers following the latest round of successful court cases.
Magistrates ordered the 11 latest culprits to pay a total of £9,414 in fines and court costs for offences ranging from dumping bags of household waste to dropping litter on the pavement.
Croydon Council’s Don’t Mess campaign launched two years ago to combine enforcement for environmental offences such as littering and fly-tipping with encouraging local people to lead litter picks. January’s prosecutions included:
• Kisskut Barbers Ltd of London Road and Photis Photiou as the Director were ordered to pay equal parts of fines and costs totalling £3,952 for failure to produce proof of valid waste transfer notes for commercial waste from premises.
• Catherine Fieulaine, trading as Get Nailed, was ordered to pay £1,040 in fines and costs for failure to produce proof of valid waste transfer notes for commercial waste from premises.
• Julia Kubiak, of Churchill Road, was ordered to pay a total of £300 in fines and court costs after she was found guilty of dumping four plastic bags of household waste in Haling Grove Recreation Ground.
• Alvaro Sotto Bosoko, of Bramble Close, was ordered to pay £310 in fines and court costs for leaving litter on the communal grassed area in Bramble Close.
• Raja Parvis Akhtar, of Brigstock Road, was ordered to pay £664 in fines and costs for fly-tipping three bags of commercial waste on Brigstock Road.
• Joanne Mullett, of North Walk, was ordered to pay £664 for dumping several bags of household rubbish in North Road.
• Raphael Ashie, of St James’s Road, was fined £664 for dumping bags of household waste and a child’s highchair at the junction of Hathaway Road with St. James’s Road.
• Fly-tipper Rahel Mussie was found guilty of dumping multiple bags of household waste, crates and cardboard left on the grassed communal area in Lodge Lane and ordered to pay a total of £390 in fines and court costs.
• Azadal Kanani of Mint Walk, was found guilty in absence of dumping rubbish bags and cardboard boxes on the pavement in Mint Walk. She was ordered to pay fines and court costs totalling £410.
• Paul Stone of Sydenham Road, was given a conditional discharge after pleading guilty to leaving three refuse bags on the pavement in Kidderminster Road.
• Catarina Craverio, of Oakwood Drive, was ordered to pay a total of £510 for dropping a cigarette in Nursery Road.
• Alison McAdam, of Lenham Road, was ordered to pay a total of £510 in fines and costs for dropping a cigarette in Hythe Road.
Any resident or business found to have fly-tipped or used an unlicensed waste carrier faces unlimited fines and a possible court conviction.
Other council initiatives introduced as part of the campaign have included:
• Tighter rules to limit the amount of time businesses can leave commercial waste on shopfront pavements ahead of collection
• Installing 80 more dual rubbish and recycling bins along streets in the north of the borough
• Over 1,320 inspections to check businesses have the right waste licence
• Encouraging over 240 businesses to sign a pledge to keep their street tidier
• 80 per cent of fly-tips now removed in 48 hours (as opposed to just three per cent prior to 2014)
• a new smart phone app for reporting fly-tips
• recruitment of 317 street champions and 127 monthly clean ups.
Councillor Stuart Collins, deputy leader – Clean Green Croydon
“The Don’t Mess campaign is about encouraging everyone to do the responsible thing to keep our borough tidy and we’ve had a fantastic response from the majority of our residents on this.
“However, at the same time we are taking a tough stance against those who can’t be bothered to dispose of their rubbish properly and dump it on the streets, be it litter or a bin bag full of household waste. Fly-tipping and littering make a huge difference to the look and feel of our public spaces and these latest prosecutions underline how we will continue to hold fly-tippers and litterers to account.
“I’m proud of the progress made in the two years since we launched this campaign and I look forward to more successes, whether that is continuing to inspire community action or targeting fly-tipping hotspots.”
For more information on how to get involved in the Don’t Mess With Croydon – Take Pride campaign, visit the council website. You can also report dumped waste via the council’s dedicated fly-tipping hotline on 020 8604 7000, the council’s My Croydon smartphone app or by emailing flytip@croydon.gov.uk.
