A FLY-TIPPER was made to pay more than £1,000 after admitting to illegally dumping waste he collected from a primary school.
Anthony Greenwood, of West Lea Drive, Tingley, pleaded guilty at Wakefield Magistrates to three waste disposal offences.
The court heard an environmental crime officer from Wakefield Council had found rubbish fly-tipped at Lawns Lane, in Lofthouse, with labels linking the waste to East Garforth Primary School.
The officer was told three men in a white van took rubbish from the school after convincing staff they were registered waste carriers.
A sting operation was then launched to try and catch the offenders in the act.
The court heard a location device was fitted to a pile of rubbish at Flanshaw Crescent and Greenwood was contacted and asked to give a price for collecting it.
Three men took the waste away for a price of £60, in a van which was found to be insured to Greenwood.
Officers didn’t find the waste when they activated the device the following day.
But the council had enough evidence to interview Greenwood, and he admitted taking the waste from the school, saying he had arranged for a man to come and take it away from his home.
Greenwood was fined £500 with a £15 victim surcharge and a £521.90 costs for the first offence, of knowingly causing or permitting the deposit of controlled waste.
The other two offences were of failing to provide waste transfer notices.
But magistrates gave Greenwood credit for his early guilty plea and acceptance of the facts.
Coun Maureen Cummings, cabinet member for the environment and communities, said: “We take a tough stand on fly-tippers. Fly-tipping is not only a blight on the local environment but on our communities and costs the council tax payer significant amounts of money to clear away.
“Illegal waste removal can carry a hefty fine and fly-tipping a fine of up to £50,000 or even a five-year prison sentence.”