Three men have been convicted at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court for dumping waste illegally in Havant.
The trio received suspended prison sentences following an extensive investigation by the Environment Agency:
The first man, trading as "Rubbish Clearance Portsmouth" admitted to collecting waste from a number of customers that he deposited at the site near Havant, and did not use correct paperwork.
The Environment Agency found paperwork belonging to the second man. Trading as "What a Load of Rubbish", he had dumped waste he had collected from a housing association and a landlord as part of a house clearance. He did not use the correct paperwork.
The final man, trading as "S&S Clearances" was employed to clear household and business waste from a church in Portsmouth by the pastor who had employed him before, and also did not use the correct paperwork.
The Environment Agency discovered a major fly-tipping site on Hulbert Road, Havant, in September 2018. It found orchestrated dumping of household and commercial waste by trespassers, including waste forming around 40 different tips from many small vehicles.
The waste site caused problems for the environment with some of the waste catching fire, causing toxic smoke, and some entering the local stream. It cost around £100,000 to clear the site.
A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: "Their actions showed blatant disregard for the environment. These waste criminals also undermine legitimate businesses. In cases like this, we have no hesitation in prosecuting those involved as we want to make sure that waste crime doesn’t pay. We all have a part to play in stopping waste crime. We encourage the public to ask to see their waste collector’s ‘Waste Carriers Registration’ and demand a ‘Waste Transfer Note’, which states where they are taking the waste to be disposed."
