The District Council works with partners to crackdown on illegal waste carriers

Officers worked together throughout the operation to monitor hot spot areas in both marked and unmarked vehicles, pulling over vehicles carrying waste such as tree clippings and scrap metal in order to check the driver had all the necessary licences to carry such waste.

The operation was a success with five drivers being issued Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) and one vehicle being seized as it did not have an MOT. 

Officers also had the chance to discuss and give advice on road safety with various vehicles being pulled over due to both drivers and passengers being spotted without a seatbelt on, in one case the passenger was a young child.

Advice about the importance of carrying the correct documentation and licences was also given to those pulled over, and one driver admitted to carrying waste for 25 years without obtaining the legal documentation to do so.

The District Council ran the initiative with the aim of tackling environmental offences such as fly-tipping. The operation was the latest initiative of this type that the District Council has conducted alongside partners as part of its ‘Not in Newark and Sherwood’ campaign. Plans to conduct future operations are already underway in order to continue cracking down on those who commit environmental offences and deter potential offenders. 

Since January the District Council have issued 138 FPNs and have successfully prosecuted two offenders in court, with a further eleven cases awaiting a court date. On average 1.13 fly tips are reported to the District Council per day and operations like this aim to reduce fly tipping by addressing the problem at the source.

All businesses transporting waste must have a waste carrier’s licence. Any residents paying a third party to remove their waste should check they carry a licence to do so here: https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers

Councillor Roger Jackson, portfolio holder for Cleaner, Safer, Greener, said: “Working together with our partners on operations such as this is a great way to make the most of the resources we all offer.

“Fly-tipping blights our community and cracking down on those who don’t have the correct waste licences is extremely important in the fight to reduce cases of waste being illegally dumped.

“Operations such as this are not only done to benefit the environment and local community, they are also important for residents who do abide by the law by attaining the correct waste licences, and who may be unfairly undercut by those who do not.”

Chief Inspector Heather Maelor, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This operation forms one of many that we are carrying out as part of our efforts to crack down on rural crime and tackle issues that the people of our rural communities feel really strongly about. 

“Operations like this mean we are showing our presence on the roads but also reassuring communities that we are aware of problems and are doing everything in our power to clamp down on those who believe they can break the law. 

“With the help of our partners from the council, DVSA and the Environment Agency we were able to spend the morning really cracking down on those fly-tipping and people without the correct waste carrying licences – issues that we know are so important to the farming communities.

“Joint operations like this are so important because not only are we building relationships with our partners but also showing the public and those breaking the law or believing they can get away with causing havoc for our rural areas that it’s not just the police taking a strong stance on this, it’s a wider matter that’s being targeted by other organisations. 

“We know that rural crime has no borders whether it’s fuel theft, issues with quad and off-road bikes, plant theft, hare coursing or fly-tipping. These issues aren’t going unnoticed, we are listening, we are acting and operations like this will only continue. 

“You may not always see a marked police car but we are watching and will be there to catch anyone found to be causing issues for the rural communities of Nottinghamshire.” 

Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry said: "It is clear from listening to the concerns residents in rural communities have raised with me that fly tipping has blighted our rural areas for too long. That is why we are working with our partners to respond to these concerns and there is a crackdown on fly tipping by taking to the road to monitor vehicles."

Alex Sutton, enforcement officer for the Environment Agency, said: “We had a successful day working with Nottinghamshire Police, the DVSA and Newark and Sherwood District Council, carrying out waste carrier licence checks from a number of locations in Newark.

“As a result, five fixed-penalty notices have been issued for drivers who failed to have a waste carrier licence or a scrap metal dealer licence. We also helped to carry out a clean-up operation after a vehicle carrying damaged food frying equipment leaked oil onto the road.

“Anyone who is carrying waste needs to have a licence to do so. We also ask members of the public to ensure they only use registered waste carriers to take their waste away.”

DVSA’s Director of Enforcement, Marian Kitson, said: “DVSA’s priority is protecting everyone from unsafe drivers and vehicles.

“We welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with other agencies to achieve a better road safety outcome, and thank Nottinghamshire Police, Environment Agency and Newark and Sherwood District Council for their collaboration during this operation.

“We want to remind local vehicle operators of their duty to ensure their vehicles are well maintained and safely loaded to keep local Newark and Sherwood road users safe”.