Raw food waste that attracted rats and vermin after being dumped in the street from a restaurant in Chadwell Heath has seen the eatery fined almost £8,000.
Millions Group of Companies Ltd, which runs Million's Lounge and Restaurant in High Road, admitted fly-tipping and failing to comply with waste management notices following summonses by Redbridge Council environment inspectors.
The court action follows complaints to the council from the public and people living close by about rubbish dumping in High Road.
“Failure to store commercial waste correctly threatens public health and the environment as well as being an eyesore,” Cllr Khayer Chowdhury warned.
“This prosecution serves as a warning to those who think they can get away with fly-tipping that the council will take tough action against businesses that refuse to act responsibly.
“We all have a responsibility to keep our borough clean and tidy, which includes businesses.”
Evidence of rats and vermin infestations was found stemming from the rotting food, which included raw chicken waste, Redbridge Council said.
Waste from the kitchen and bar, bags of rotting food and even loose rubbish, as well as metal ventilation ducting all from Million’s Lounge was found dumped nearby. It also included used shisha smoking materials. The restaurant’s waste bins were found on land owned by other businesses.
A legal notice under the 1990 Environmental Protection Act was eventually slapped on the restaurant, after regular inspections were carried out.
The summonses were issued after the council said “earlier efforts to engage with the business had limited effect”.
Company director Mohsin Rashid and Millions Group of Companies were summoned to Barkingside Magistrates’ Court on February 13 for four offences of fly-tipping and two of failing to comply with the local authority’s waste management notice.
The 32-year-old pleaded guilty on behalf of the company to the six charges and was fined with court and council costs totalling £7,675.
Businesses are required by law to dispose of their commercial waste, the local authority points out. They can use a registered trade waste carrier licenced by the Environment Agency or transport their commercial waste to a transfer site themselves if they have a waste carrier’s licence.
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