Two shops in Lichfield city centre have paid fixed penalties after their waste was found inside street litter bins.
It comes after Lichfield District Council’s street cleaning staff found that public bins were being filled with commercial rubbish.
An investigation by environmental health officers found evidence connecting the waste to the two shops – which have not been named – and neither could prove that they had been disposing of their waste in accordance with the law.
Rather than prosecute the businesses both were offered, and both paid, a fixed penalty of £400 under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Cllr Janice Silvester-Hall, cabinet member for high Streets and visitor economy, said:
“If business waste goes into street litter bins, they fill up and then create litter which has a detrimental impact on the area.
“It also means that the public are paying to dispose of this waste rather than the business, and it is unfair on the vast majority of businesses who are disposing of their waste responsibly.
“Most businesses have a contract with a waste collection service which provides a bin that can be lidded and locked.”
Cllr Janice Silvester-Hall
Commercial waste cannot be put into litter bins, taken home and disposed of through the household waste collection, burned, or taken to a household waste recycling centre.
All businesses are required to make their own arrangements to dispose of their waste, and when they transfer it to another person, they must keep evidence of the transfer for two years.
Businesses wanting advice about the storage and disposal of business waste can contact the council’s regulation and enforcement team on 01543 308000.
