Residents are being warned to check who they pay to remove rubbish after two fly-tipping incidents led to fines totalling £1,100.
Stafford Borough Council issued the penalties following separate cases near Gnosall and in Eccleshall.
The council said people remain responsible for ensuring their waste is passed to a registered carrier and disposed of legally.
House-clearance waste dumped near Gnosall
In the latest incident, chairs, plant pots, cardboard and other house-clearance waste were dumped in a lay-by on the A518 near Gnosall.
Council officers traced the owner of the rubbish to an address in Nottingham.
The man said he had paid £250 to a specialist removal company he found through the online marketplace Gumtree.
However, he was issued with a £600 fixed penalty notice for allowing his waste to be disposed of illegally. The council said he refused to provide details of the company he had used.
Waste dumped at Eccleshall business
A separate incident involved a delivery driver who dumped a large black bag of domestic rubbish at industrial premises in Eccleshall.
The man, from Wimborne in Dorset, received a £500 fixed penalty notice following the incident in June.
Together, the two penalties totalled £1,100.
Residents urged to check waste carriers
Councillor Ian Fordham, Stafford Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, said fly-tipping and other environmental crimes could damage the environment, attract anti-social behaviour and affect residents’ quality of life.
He warned that paying somebody to remove rubbish could leave the owner facing a fine or prosecution if the person was not a registered waste carrier.
The council advises residents to check the credentials of anyone offering waste-removal services, ask where the rubbish will be taken and obtain a receipt.
People can check whether a company or individual is registered through the Environment Agency’s public waste-carrier register.
Anyone with information about fly-tipping in Stafford Borough can report it to the council through its Grimewatch service.
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