Hackney restaurant fined £5270 for dumping waste in streets
A restaurant in Shoreditch has been fined £5270 for dumping rubbish in the street.
Hackney Council brought the case against C&L Foods Ltd, which owns Mexican Express, after it repeatedly failed to dispose of its waste properly.
The manager denied the black bin sacks left outside the City Road venue had come from the restaurant, but till receipts found among the waste by council inspectors indicated that it had. The manager was also unable to provide evidence that arrangements were in place to legally dispose of the restaurant’s rubbish.
The issue was first discovered in 2011 and, despite warnings from council staff and advice on how to properly dispose of waste, inspectors found further breaches in 2012 and decided to take legal action.
Thames Magistrates Court ruled C&L Foods Ltd was in breach of section 34(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and fined it £2000 plus costs of £3270.
There is simply no excuse for any restaurant to dump its food waste in the street because it can’t be bothered to properly dispose of it. Dealing with rubbish left out illegally by businesses, known as unregulated waste, costs Hackney residents over £1 million per year. Businesses must have arrangements in place to deal with their waste, and be able to show proof when asked by council officers. There is very clear guidance on commercial waste disposal and we will always offer advice to businesses, but should a venue repeatedly flaunt the law they will be prosecuted.
All businesses must have arrangements in place for the disposal of their waste by an authorised waste carrier, and have a record of it. If businesses do not take reasonable steps to dispose their waste safely they can face unlimited fines.
Our environmental enforcement team check whether businesses are carrying out their duties and investigate those who do not have arrangements in place. If you suspect a business of illegally dumping rubbish on the street, contact enforcementsupport@hackney.gov.uk or call 020 8356 4504.