Don’t Trash Oldham: Three more in court for blighting the borough

A further three residents have been prosecuted by Oldham Council after their waste was found illegally dumped in the borough.

Environmental Health officers traced waste dumped on Adam Street to Corrina McDermott, of Letham Street, Oldham.

In court the 34-year-old pleaded guilty to a Duty of Care offence - when dumped waste is found and is traced back to a person or address – and was given a 12-month conditional discharge and a £21 victim surcharge.

Robert Kotlar of Crete Street, Oldham pleaded not guilty to four similar offences after his waste was found on Schofield Street on four separate occasions.

However, magistrates found the 46-year-old guilty of the offences and he was fined £400 with £300 costs.

The third resident, Stefan Rapa of Copsterhill Road, pleaded guilty to a similar offence.

His waste was found in an alleyway off Copsterhill Road.  The 40-year-old was fined £700 with £531 costs and a £72 victim surcharge.

Councillor Amanda Chadderton, Deputy leader of Oldham Council and Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: "Cleaning up our borough is a priority for the council and prosecutions like this show how serious we are about taking action against those who don’t seem to give a toss.

"Residents tell us they want to live in clean neighbourhoods and that’s why we’ve invested an extra £1.27m into our Don’t Trash Oldham campaign.

"We are currently recruiting more enforcement officers who’ll be working across the town. If they see littering, fly-tipping or dumped waste they’ll investigate and if evidence is found we’ll take action – as these cases show.

"Cleaning up rubbish like this costs every council tax payer – money that could be better spent elsewhere.

"Everyone needs to do their bit – it’s not hard. Dispose of your waste properly and if you pay someone to get rid of it for your check they have a waste carriers licence or you could end up in trouble."

Oldham Council have invested an extra £1.27m in a street cleaning campaign – 'Don’t Trash Oldham' which aims to tackle litter, fly-tipping and waste. Part of the cash is being spent cleaning streets across the borough

This month's printed edition of the Oldham Evening Chronicle (out on Friday) features a follow-up on our special investigation into the removal of rubbish on the streets, and revisits areas that were cleaned last month.

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