Irresponsible waste disposal Photo: Cleaner Croydon

A Hackney businessman has been fined more than £1,000 for failing to make proper arrangements for the disposal of business waste.

Lloyd Robinson who runs Back to Eden, a grocers and health food shop on Lower Clapton Road, was prosecuted by Hackney Council after requests for waste transfer documentation dating back to May 2010.

In that time council officers wrote to Robinson 12 times and visited the shop eight times, handing out two fixed penalty notices.

Robinson was unable to produce documents to prove he had been using a licensed waste carrier to dispose of his rubbish. During one visit he told officers his waste was dealt with, but couldn’t provide any further details.

Magistrates at Thames Magistrates’ Court handed down a fine of £850 plus £160 costs and a £15 victim surcharge on February 3.

Cllr Feryal Demirci, Hackney Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “Every business must ensure that it has proper waste disposal arrangements in place. Using an unlicensed waste carrier can result in business waste being fly-tipped or added to household waste collections, and the removal of this waste costs the tax payers of Hackney money.”

Robinson had entered a not guilty plea but was not present in court. The Magistrate noted that Robinson had plenty of opportunity to respond to the council or pay his fixed penalty notices.

Magistrates can hand out fines of up to £5,000 for failing to produce documents that prove compliance with a duty of care, and businesses can be fined up to £50,000 for adding commercial waste to household collections.

Hackney Council said their officers visit every business in the borough each year to ensure they are disposing of their waste in a responsible manner.