Hackney-based Facing Heaven ignored a warning from the council after its first offence was caught in January 2023.
The operator has been ordered to pay £19,400, including £16,500 in fines, plus legal costs of £900 and the maximum victim surcharge of £2,000.
Councillor Sarah Young, cabinet member for climate change, environment and transport at Hackney council, said: “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.”
Thames Magistrates’ Court found the business owner guilty on 22 April 2025 in keeping with the Environmental Protection Act 1990, under which fly-tipping and the illegal dumping of waste is a criminal offence.
The judge concluded that the business owner knowingly committed the offences, given they had been issued with a duty of waste disposal notice by Hackney council in 2023 and continued to fly-tip up until October 2024.
The popular establishment is located off Mare Street and serves vegan Chinese food.
The council believes that the restaurant avoided thousands of pounds by choosing to fly-tip its waste.
Young continued: “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 at a time when budgets are severely stretched. We only move to enforcement where residents or businesses fail to work with us and deliberately dump rubbish and then we will take action.”
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