Woman fined for leaving glass bottles

A Gwendraeth Valley woman has been fined by the courts for leaving glass bottles at the side of the recycling banks in Cross Hands.
Shane Sander, aged 52, of Clos y Cwm, Penygroes, pleaded guilty to an offence of littering at Llanelli Magistrates Court.
The prosecution was brought by Carmarthenshire County Council.
The court heard that the council’s environmental enforcement officers were on duty at the bring site at Cross Hands Co-op when they saw a woman get out of her vehicle with two carrier bags of glass bottles.
They saw the woman put two glass bottles in the glass recycling bank, then place the two carrier bags on the floor at the side of the bin, walk away and get into her car. She was about to drive away when the officers approached the vehicle and explained that an offence had been witnessed.
The woman got out of the car and proceeded to put all the bottles in the bank. The officers asked her why she had made an attempt to put bottles in the recycling bin and then walk away leaving the bags on the floor, but she would not reply. They explained that a £75 fixed penalty notice would be issued for an offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. However, the woman got back into her vehicle.
The officers explained that if she drove away they would have to report her for summons to which she replied: “I’ve picked them up, I’ve done nothing wrong.” It was explained that she had only picked up the bags after being stopped. She then drove off without giving her details. Enquiries however revealed Sander as the registered keeper of the vehicle.
She was fined £135 by magistrates and ordered to pay £150 towards prosecution costs as well as a victim surcharge of £15.
The council now hopes this fine will act as a warning to others. Unfortunately there is a problem with people dumping rubbish not only at the recycling site in Cross Hands but at other sites across the county. A number of people have been fined in recent months.
Executive Board Member for the Environment Councillor Philip Hughes said: “Unfortunately fly-tipping is becoming an increasing problem at our bring sites and we are very disappointed that they are being misused in this way as they are important facilities for communities.
“There are signs up at the sites which clearly tell people not to leave any items on the ground. We want to encourage people to recycle as much of their waste as possible, however, people are dumping all types of waste at the sites and leaving their recyclables in plastic bags next to the containers because they are too lazy to empty them into the banks.
“This not only makes the area look unsightly but it costs the council thousands of pounds to clean up. I hope people take notice of these latest fines.”
Environmental enforcement officers regularly patrol the sites and can issue fixed penalty notices for £75. More serious offences could lead to fines of up to £50,000 and/or up to five years in prison.