Man jailed for 42-tonne fly-tip

A fly-tipper who illegally dumped rubbish weighing the same as six elephants has been jailed by Croydon magistrates.

Croydon Council officers prosecuted Gladstone Mark Buchanan for fly-tipping and illegally storing 42 tonnes of furniture and building material in Martin Crescent in Waddon between October 2011 and January 2012.

On Thursday (7 May) Croydon Magistrates Court sentenced the 45-year-old, from Mantlet Close in Streatham Vale, to six months in prison and ordered him to pay court costs totalling £7,413.

Buchanan had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to two charges under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act (Amended) 1990 and to breaching Section (1) (a) and (5) of the 1989 Control of Pollution Amendment Act.

The successful prosecution comes as part of the ongoing Don’t Mess With Croydon – Take Pride campaign, which combines council enforcement action with getting communities to do their bit. So far this has included six prosecutions in one day in March and recruiting more than 200 local volunteers to lead community clear-ups.

“This illegal dump was on a staggering scale; 42 tonnes of waste are as heavy as six elephants.

“This case is a warning to all fly-tippers – our enforcement team will track and prosecute anyone who illegally stores or gets rid of waste in Croydon.”

Councillor Stuart Collins, deputy leader – Clean Green Croydon

Anyone with information on dumped waste should contact the council’s dedicated fly-tipping hotline on 020 8604 7000 or by emailing flytip@croydon.gov.uk

2015-05-12T12:04:14+01:00 May 12th, 2015|Recent news|