Tradesman fined £1,000 for waste left on Wiltshire roadside

A tradesman has been fined £1,000 after fly-tipped waste was discovered on a roadside in Wiltshire.

The incident occurred on Whitehill Lane, near Brinkworth, where a builder's bag containing cardboard packaging was found abandoned on a grass verge.

Wiltshire Council's Environmental Enforcement Officers investigated the matter and tracked the waste back to a resident in Swindon.

The resident claimed that the tradesman had removed the packaging from their property following some work.

The tradesman explained in an interview that the bag had blown off the trailer he was using because it was not secured properly.

Despite searching in the dark, he was unable to locate the lost waste.

As a result, the council issued a fixed penalty notice of £1,000 due to the failure to secure and dispose of the waste lawfully.

Since the penalty is not a court conviction, the tradesman’s identity remains undisclosed.

Wiltshire Council's Warning

Cllr Martin Smith, Cabinet Member for Highways, emphasized that the duty of care applies to everyone, including householders, tradespeople, and businesses.

“Anyone transporting waste must ensure it is properly secured and disposed of lawfully,” he said.

He further expressed that fly-tipping harms the countryside and imposes clear-up costs and responsibilities on innocent landowners.

The council committed to taking robust enforcement action where evidence permits.

Waste Responsibilities for Tradespeople

Tradespeople and commercial businesses hold a strict duty of care for any waste they produce, which includes:

• Ensuring waste is stored, transported, and disposed of legally
• Using only registered waste carriers and verifying their license on the Environment Agency register
• Keeping waste transfer notes for all waste transactions, retained for two years
• Refraining from disposing of business waste at household recycling centres, as such actions are illegal and punishable with a £1,000 penalty
• Avoiding public litter bins for business waste to prevent accusations of fly-tipping
• Accidental loss of waste also places responsibility on the transporter

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