Major fly-tipper receives custodial sentence for dumping 200 black bags

Serial Fly-Tipper, Steven Bouchard has been given a custodial sentence following fly-tipping SEVEN times across Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Mr Bouchard aged 38, from Pontypridd was caught red handed fly-tipping across known beauty spots within the County Borough.

The serial offender dumped almost 200 black bags of waste across 3 locations, namely, Engine House Road, Llanwonno, Penrhys Forestry, and Pen-y-Wal Road, Llanwonno. The waste consisted of large amounts of cannabis waste and related materials, including venting pipes, heat lamps, soil and other items.

The offender was a licenced waste carrier – which highlights a key issue in this case and could act as warning for those who are trying to get rid of their waste! If you pay someone to dispose of your waste, you MUST check that they are a licenced waste carrier, but even if they are, you are advised to keep a record of your transactions with the individual/business. Thanks to the enforcement officers working in partnership with National Resources Wales, Mr Bouchard will now have his waste carriers licence removed.

Mr Bouchard, who pleaded guilty of the offences, will now need to be on his best behaviour as he received a 4-month prison sentence, suspended for 12-months. In addition to this he is also subject to a 15-day rehabilitation order and must pay costs of over £2000.

Following further investigation, in partnership with South Wales Police, Mr Bouchard’s white transit ‘fly-tipping’ van was also seized under section 165 of the Road Traffic Act. The vehicle was later emptied by the Council’s Enforcement Team, where they discovered it was full of even more bags containing cannabis waste and household waste containing evidence relating to Steven Bouchard.

As well as carrying out routine checks around the County Borough and responding to the reports it receives, the Council has a number of covert, roaming cameras placed in key locations to catch offenders red-handed, like Mr Bouchard.

Following the investigations, Mr Bouchard was invited to attend an interview with the Council’s enforcement team on a number of occasions and failed to attend. Due to the magnitude of the offences and lack of co-operation, the case was referred to Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates Court.

This serial fly-tipper was sent to court for failing to control their waste under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 sets out the offence of fly-tipping: namely the “Prohibition on unauthorised or harmful deposit, treatment or disposal etc. of waste “. Anyone failing to adhere to this could face a hefty fine, as this fly-tipper has discovered!

Councillor Ann Crimmings, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Leisure said:

“Fly-tipping in our County Borough will not be tolerated, EVER. There is NEVER an excuse to blight our towns, streets and villages with waste, and we will find those responsible and hold them to account.

“As this case highlights, we investigate ALL fly-tipping reports and will uncover all the details as Mr Bouchard has found out. Fly-tipping is a serious offence and can lead to large fines, a criminal record and even a custodial sentence.

“Removal of fly-tipping in our County Borough costs hundreds of thousands of pounds which should be spent on key front-line services.

“We will use EVERY power available to us to hold those accountable for their actions. Many of the items we recover on our streets, towns and mountains could have been taken to a Community Recycling Centre or collected from the kerbside at no extra cost.”

Even though the items highlighted in this case wouldn’t be accepted at the kerbside or at a Community Recycling Centre, the majority of items discovered by the enforcement team are usually legal household items!

The Council offers a free, weekly, unlimited, kerbside dry, food waste, green waste and nappy recycling service and six community recycling centres across the County Borough. There’s NEVER an excuse for fly-tipping, especially items that can be collected at the kerbside or recycled right here in Rhondda Cynon Taf.