Kent “skip” man fined for running an illegal waste site in Ash
Fines, costs, and compensation total £20,391. Magistrates say the offence was committed for ‘greed and profit’
Waste found at Daniel Lawrence's site
Daniel Lawrence, 41, was found guilty by Maidstone magistrates of running an illegal waste site in Ash, Kent. The skip director was fined £1,733, ordered to pay costs of £7,435, a victim surcharge of £173 and told to pay compensation to the owners of Heaver Tropics Trading Estate of £10,850, a total of £20,391. Lawrence was also disqualified from being a company director for five years.
Daniel Lawrence, of Barker Fields in Southfleet, was the sole director of Lawrence Grab & Skip Hire Limited, which hired two adjoining plots at Heaver Tropics Trading Estate in Ash.
The owners of the trading estate became concerned about the company’s activities when they noticed that instead of empty skips being left in the yard, the company began to bring skips back to the site that were full of waste.
The waste was then tipped in the rear of the yard and caught fire on several occasions. This led to the landowners evicting Lawrence’s company from their premises.
Lawrence Grab & Skip Hire Limited were granted access to the site to remove their property and to remove the illegal waste. This was in part negotiated by the Environment Agency after they became involved in investigating the site just before the eviction took place.
During the Environment Agency’s investigation, they found piles of waste, including aggregate, soils, stone, metal, plastic, wood, and household waste, sometimes 20 feet high. It was apparent that the waste was being tipped illegally as no permits or exemptions were registered at the site.
Matt Higginson, environment manager for Kent at the Environment Agency, said:
Through our officers’ investigations, this prosecution sends out a strong signal to others that we will continue to fight tirelessly to combat illegal waste crime and bring those responsible to justice.
We all create waste, and we all have a responsibility to ensure it is handled correctly. Businesses and householders also need to do everything possible to ensure that waste doesn’t end up in the hands of operators who break the law by checking the online register waste carriers, brokers and dealers (data.gov.uk)
We thank the owners of the trading estate for bringing this to our attention. To help us take enforcement action, like we have in this case, we encourage legitimate waste operators and the public to report any suspicious waste operations on 0800 807060.
Background
Daniel Lawrence, DOB 14.05.1982 of Barker Fields, Southfleet, Kent.
Daniel Lawrence was fined £1,733 ordered to pay costs of £7,435, a victim surcharge of £173 and ordered to give the industrial unit owners £10,850 compensation and was also disqualified from being a company director for 5 years.
The charges were:
Lawrence Haulage Limited formerly known as Lawrence Grab & Skip Hire Limited Company number: 9436854, operated a regulated facility, namely a waste operation, for the deposit, treatment, and storage of waste, when there was not in force an environmental permit. The offence was committed with the consent or connivance of Daniel Lee Lawrence, the company director, contrary to Regulations 12(1), 38(1)(a) and 41(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2016.