Key points:
- Facing Heaven, a vegan Chinese restaurant in Hackney, was fined £19,400 for fly-tipping on nine occasions.
- The offences occurred between January 2023 and October 2024.
- The restaurant ignored a warning issued by Hackney Council after the first offence.
- The business owner was prosecuted at Thames Magistrates’ Court on 22 April 2025.
- The total penalty includes £16,500 in fines, £900 legal costs, and a £2,000 victim surcharge.
- Hackney Council highlighted the strain fly-tipping places on council resources and taxpayers.
- Cllr Sarah Young condemned the business’s actions and welcomed the fine as a deterrent.
As reported by Jake Holden of My London, Facing Heaven, a popular vegan Chinese restaurant located off Mare Street in Hackney, East London, has been fined nearly £20,000 after being caught fly-tipping nine times.
What happened in the fly-tipping offences?
According to Jake Holden of My London, the restaurant committed multiple fly-tipping offences by illegally dumping waste from January 2023 through to October 2024. Despite receiving a formal warning from Hackney Council following the initial offence in January 2023, the business continued to fly-tip rubbish on nine separate occasions.
The illegal waste disposal included food waste and other commercial rubbish, which the restaurant attempted to avoid properly disposing of to dodge paying thousands of pounds in legitimate waste disposal fees.
What legal action was taken against Facing Heaven?
As reported by Jake Holden of My London, the business owner’s case was heard at Thames Magistrates’ Court on 22 April 2025. The owner was found guilty of all nine fly-tipping offences. The court ordered the restaurant to pay a total of £19,400, which includes £16,500 in fines, £900 in legal costs, and the maximum victim surcharge of £2,000.
The judge concluded that the offences were knowingly committed, given that the business had been issued with a duty of waste disposal notice by Hackney Council in 2023 but failed to comply and continued the illegal dumping up until October 2024.
How did Hackney Council respond to the situation?
Councillor Sarah Young, Cabinet member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport, stated:
“Our waste teams work hard to keep Hackney’s streets clean and we offer a really good range of waste and recycling services to residents and businesses. Many residents voluntarily help to keep their neighbourhoods clean and tidy too. Selfish actions from an irresponsible local business are an insult to all of our efforts – they force local council taxpayers to pick up the bill for removing waste that has been illegally dumped at a time when budgets are severely stretched.”
Cllr Young added:
“We only move to enforcement where residents or businesses fail to work with us and deliberately dump rubbish and then we will take action. We welcome the significant fine issued to this business, which will act as a deterrent to everyone about the severe consequences if they fail to dispose of their waste properly and responsibly.”
Why is fly-tipping a serious issue for Hackney and London?
Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of waste and a criminal offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The practice places a significant burden on local authorities, who must use public funds to clear rubbish dumped unlawfully. This increases costs for council taxpayers and can negatively impact community cleanliness and safety.
Hackney Council has reiterated its zero-tolerance policy towards commercial fly-tipping, emphasising the importance of compliance with proper waste disposal laws to protect public spaces.
