Dumped rubbish leads to guilty plea in court

A Petham woman who had rubbish removed from her property, only for it to end up being dumped in Herne Bay, has pleaded guilty in court of failing in her duty of care in respect of her waste and fined a total of £368.

Susan Keirle, 32, of Chequers Orchard, appeared at Margate Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 1 April.

The case stretches back to November 2023, when the city council received a report of flytipping in Eddington Lane. The rubbish consisted of a double mattress, a drawer unit, clothes and assorted bags and boxes. 

Council environmental crime officers went through the rubbish and found evidence linking it to Keirle.

During an interview in December 2023, she admitted to passing her waste to someone whose licence she did not check and who she did not get a waste transfer note for, and paid this person £50. She was unable to provide any details of the person she gave her waste to. 

Keirle was issued a fixed penalty notice of £300, but this was not paid despite an extension being granted for payment and promises from her that it would be.

As a result of the non-payment, a court file was prepared and a hearing date obtained, but Keirle did not attend and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

She was finally arrested in March 2026 and at the court appearance last week, she pleaded guilty to a failure of her duty of care in respect of the waste.

Keirle was fined £120, with costs of £200 and a victim surcharge of £48 – a total of £368. 

Cabinet member for enforcement, Cllr Connie Nolan, said: “There are plenty of unscrupulous people out there who will take your rubbish away for what appears to be a bargain price, but if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

“The law is clear that when people are having rubbish removed from their property, they are equally as responsible for what happens to it as the person who is taking it away.

“You must make sure you are using a licensed waste carrier and have the paperwork to show what the rubbish was and who took it. The Environment Agency website has a register of licensed carriers to choose from.

“In this case, while the total fines levied at court are not much more than the value of the original fixed penalty notice, Keirle now has a criminal record and a no-show at court on her file.

“This could all have been avoided if she had paid up when originally fined – or even better, used a licensed waste carrier in the first place.” 

Published: 9 April 2026