Internet firm fined more than £3K for fly tipping

An internet company which admitted dumping commercial waste in north Manchester has been ordered to pay £3,136 in fines and costs at Manchester Magistrates Court.

Mushcorp, registered at Wilberby Road, Salford, but trading at an industrial estate in the Cheetham Hill area of north Manchester, pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to dispose of commercial waste legally, at a hearing on Friday 16 June.

The prosecution came after officers working for Manchester City Council found waste dumped at the estate in north Manchester on two separate occasions.  An investigation by the council’s Environmental Crimes team uncovered evidence which linked both offences to Mushcorp Limited.

The council’s environmental crimes team contacted the company and Muhammad Mushtaq, company Ddirector, attended two separate interviews to discuss the case, in October 2016 and November 2016.

Mushtaq told investigating officers that he sometimes took some of his commercial waste home with him.

He also claimed that a neighbouring business allowed him to use their bin to dispose of trade waste.

Mushtaq claimed that he had instructed a company worker to use this bin to dispose of the rubbish, which the council instead found dumped nearby.

Mushcorp was fined £1,000 for each offence, plus costs of £1,036 and a victim surcharge of £100 – totalling £3,136.

Executive member for neighbourhoods, Cllr Nigel Murphy, said: “It’s clearly entirely inappropriate for a company to fail to dispose of its commercial waste legally – and wholly unacceptable for Mushcorp to repeatedly dump rubbish in our neighbourhoods.

“I’m pleased that our Environmental Crimes team have been able to bring this successful prosecution – and hope that firms who think they can get away with blighting Manchester in this way will take note of the £3,000 penalty handed down and think again.”