A man has been ordered to remove waste he illegally dumped in a village in North Yorkshire, a county in England. The trash included refrigerators, wood, and other materials from demolition sites as well as various items made of plastic. According to the U.K. Environment Agency, the waste risked polluting a nearby water channel or even starting a fire.
Oliver Henry Alexander King initially failed to comply with the order, later pleading guilty in court. He also received a notice to clear waste from the site as well as a fine over £5,000 and was sentenced to 110 hours of unpaid work.
"King was given a number of opportunities to clear the site of waste, but failed to comply with the instructions from our officers," Ian Foster, an EA area environment manager, said, per the BBC. Foster reiterated that dumping waste can impact the environment and the local community.
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Yes — always 💯 It's estimated there are nearly 100 million tons of illegally dumped waste in the world, and the United States accounts for 1.5 million tons. This metric does not account for smaller discarded things such as cigarette butts or other frequent litter, including plastic bags.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, people often dump waste illegally to avoid paying fees or so they don't have to expend the time and effort required for proper disposal.
Sara Popescu Slavikova believes there is a shortage of legal disposable options. As the co-founder of Greentumble, a platform geared toward educating people on living more sustainably, she also thinks people need to be made aware of available disposable options — and calls on authorities to be better monitors, as well.
"A waste disposal system has to be simple and accessible for common people," Slavikova said. "Prices for disposal cannot be too high that they discourage people."
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