A BUILDER has been slapped with a £300 fine as part of a crackdown operation on commercial waste being dumped illegally.

As part of a joint operation by officers from Slough Borough Council, Thames Valley Police and the Home Office, which took place in Sutton Lane on August 17, drivers of vehicles suspected of transporting waste were stopped and searched and asked to show their waste carriers’ licence issued by the Environment Agency.

One local builder was unable to produce a valid licence and he was issued with a fixed penalty notice of £300.

Transporting waste without the correct licence can incur a fine of up to £5000.

The purpose of the operation was to educate businesses about their duty of care when throwing away rubbish to ensure they were correctly disposing of commercial waste and are registered with the Environment Agency to carry waste.

In total officers spoke to 50 businesses and issued four notices asking them to produce documents proving they dispose of their waste legally.

Driver’s insurance, tax and MOT were checked by police officers resulting in six tickets issued, one vehicle seized and reported two others for not having car insurance.

Bailiffs were also present recovering unpaid parking fines and they successfully collected six outstanding fines - one for Slough and five for other boroughs.

Councillor Satpal Parmar, commissioner for environment and open spaces, said: “The aim of operations such as this is to ultimately prevent the illegal disposal of waste which the council then have to pay to clear up.

"Fly-tipping in Slough costs the council and ranges from a single black bag to thousands of tonnes of waste.

“We are committed to keeping the streets of Slough clear of rubbish. Let this be a warning, we will catch those disposing of waste illegally and we will take tough action against them.”

House owners should check the waste carriers’ licence of anyone who takes waste away from their property and should never give waste to anyone who does not have the appropriate registration.

A waste permit can be checked online www.gov.uk or by contacting the Environment Agency.