A fly-tipper who made a 'stupid decision' by dumping three large bags of rubbish on a Birmingham street during a bin strike has been fined more than £1,500. Nelu Marius Putulan, aged 55, of Golds Hill Road, Birmingham, admitted depositing controlled waste without an environmental permit at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Thursday, April 23.
The court heard that Putulan, a Romanian national, took three large bags and loose waste from his vehicle and left them on Crick Lane in Birmingham on June 30, 2024. When initially contacted by Birmingham City Council, Putulan claimed the vehicle was being used by someone else who lived in Sandwell. However, the council received no response to notices served to the nominated driver and later found that Sandwell Council had no record of that person.
Fixed Penalty Notice Ignored
Oladele Osinuga, prosecuting for Birmingham City Council, said a fixed penalty notice was issued in May 2025. When no payment was received, a non-payment notice was sent the following month. Mr Osinuga stated: 'The council prides itself on making Birmingham a clean environment for all. The seriousness of this offence is the defendant failed to engage with the council on all occasions and also nominated someone. We don't know if that person exists or not.'
Defendant's Explanation
Hardev Bhomra, defending, said Putulan was in receipt of universal credit and was waiting to receive it to pay the penalty. He added that when Putulan received his benefits, he exchanged them for postal orders and sent them to the council, but the non-payment notice had already been issued. Mr Bhomra said: 'My client accepts he disposed of the rubbish. This was done during the strike period. He also accepts he was just moving his problem on to someone else and that is no excuse. This was reckless on my client's part, a stupid decision by him. His mistake was not to contact the council and ask for more time for him to collect his benefits payment. He has not ignored this matter and he did try to make payment. He is not a man who comes to court on a regular basis.'
Putulan was fined £400 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £160 and prosecution costs of £1,000, bringing the total to £1,560.
