A fly-tipper from Devon who failed to clear the waste that he dumped has appeared in court for contempt.
Vitor Da Silva from Torquay pleaded guilty to dumping waste without an environmental permit, between January 2019 and August 2020, in court last February.
He was given a conditional discharge for 12 months by Plymouth Magistrates, which would be breached if he failed to clear the site by the end of May 2022. At the time, he was told to provide proof that the rubbish had been properly transferred to a legitimate site permitted to accept such waste.
At this time, he was also ordered to pay costs of £500 plus a £22 victim surcharge.
As the May 2022 deadline was not met, Da Silva reappeared in court last Wednesday (September 14) and was fined £100 and ordered to pay £80 costs after showing evidence that he has now cleared the waste.
Commenting on the case, Phil Butterworth of the Environment Agency said:
“Da Silva had been given ample time to dispose of the waste to a properly licensed site. Sadly, he chose to ignore his responsibilities.
“Unfortunately, anyone who used Da Silva’s services would have also failed in their duty of care to ensure a waste carrier has an environmental permit.
“By having proof that a person is licensed to remove waste, you can be sure your rubbish is properly disposed of.”
