A business owner from Swansea has been fined after "items consistent with a greeting cards shop" were found dumped and partially blocking a road in the Swansea Valley.
Carol Bater, 55, owner of For All Occasions in Woodfield Street, Morriston , admitted that she had failed 'in her duty of care' to dispose of the waste correctly, during a hearing at Swansea Magistrates Court on Tuesday, February 25.
In May 2019, officers from Neath Port Talbot Council Waste Enforcement team were called to Hodgsons Road in Gordre'r Graig, near Ystalyfera , where they found a pile of waste including a toilet, shards of glass, rubble and "items consistent with a greeting cards shop".
The waste included harmful and hazardous items and was partially blocking the road only a few hundred foot from a children's playground.
At the same hearing, Christopher Heale, 32, of Glyn Collen, Ynysforgan, admitted the unlawful deposit of controlled waste was made using his vehicle.
The fly-tipped rubbish was traced back to Carol Bater's greetings card business and Mr Heale was found to be the registered keeper of a Ford Transit van that was used to dump the waste. The vehicle was later seized under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
In an interview with the council's waste enforcement team, Ms Bater said she did not know the person who removed the rubbish and that she had no waste transfer documentation for the consignment of waste.
She added that her actions had been "foolish".
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Ms Bater was fined £218 and ordered to pay a £30 Victim Surcharge plus costs of £560.
Mr Heale was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a requirement to perform 80 hours of unpaid work. In addition, he was ordered to pay costs of £839.52 and a victim surcharge of £85.
Neath Port Talbot Council’s Deputy Leader, Councillor Ted Latham, said: "This successful prosecution proves yet again that this Council will not tolerate those who damage our environment and we will not hesitate to take action."
