A Fife man claimed he was being “given community service for doing a service for the community” after appearing in court over the repeated illegal dumping of waste.
William McAleese is well-known around Ballingry and Lochgelly for collecting waste which had been left lying around outside homes.
After being sentenced, he insisted, “I’m not a fly-tipper. All I’m doing is tidying the place up.”
But convicting him of illegal dumping, Sheriff Craig McSherry said, “I can see that but by tidying it up you’re depositing it somewhere else.”
McAleese, 41, of Craigie Street, Ballingry, then said he wanted to have his say in court as he was unhappy about how he had been represented by his solicitors.
“I’ve not been fly-tipping. I was getting abuse hurled at me at these places,” he said from the dock.
McAleese admitted that on numerous occasions in 2014 he deposited controlled waste without the authority of a waste management licence.
On April 14 at Navitie Park, Ballingry, he deposited 20 black bags of household waste.
On April 16 at Andrew Cook Group, Birchwood Sidings, Strathore Road, Thornton, he deposited building materials.
On May 2 at Rosewell Drive, Lochore, he deposited rubble and garden waste.
On October 5 at Navitie Park Recycling Point, he deposited a quantity of furniture, toys and waste.
He also admitted that on repeated occasions between April 14 and October 5 at Navitie Park, Strathore Road, Dunfermline Recycling Centre and elsewhere in Fife, in the cause of his business or otherwise with a view to profit, he transported controlled waste, namely household and construction waste when he was not a registered carrier of such waste.
Sheriff McSherry pointed out that on the first charge alone he could have faced a maximum fine of £40,000.
McAleese was placed on a community payback order with 180 hours of unpaid work.
He said: “I enjoy the work I do and a lot of people appreciate it. There are times when I don’t even get paid when I go back for the money.
“I’m from the area, my family are from the area and it’s a job that’s well worth doing. I’ve been given community service for doing a service for the community.”
He said his business had been badly hit by bad publicity in the local area mainly via social media. “People write what they want about you on Facebook and then people think you’ve been fly-tipping. I wouldn’t do that.”
Earlier defence solicitor Gwen Haggerty had told the court that her client’s wife works in a care home and they had four children.
“He does odd jobs such as landscape gardening,” she added.