Waste disposal boss given suspended prison sentence for dumping hazardous waste on school grounds
The boss of a waste disposal firm was ordered to pay £3,400 for dumping a hazardous fly-tip on the grounds of a Harpenden school.
James Blewitt, 35, was also given a 16-week jail sentence, suspended for a year, for the criminal offence.
His company Atlas Waste of Basildon, Essex, removed waste from Musicale, a teaching centre for young musicians at St George’s School in Harpenden.
The firm had undertaken the work after agreeing a contract with an independent broker.
Blewitt decided to return and dump waste at the Musicale site in protest at apparently not being paid for the job, St Albans Magistrates Court heard.
He took rubbish to the site in one of his company’s vans under cover of darkness to create the fly-tip.
The toxic material which had been collected elsewhere included razor blades, sanitary products and faeces as well as packaging.
Musicale alerted St Albans City and District Council’s environmental enforcement team to the fly-tip and they launched an investigation.
They traced the dump to Atlas Waste after reviewing CCTV footage showing the van arriving at the site.
Blewitt, a director of the firm, was interviewed by Council officers under caution and accepted that Musicale was not aware of the payment dispute which was with the broker.
He also agreed that the fly-tip included material entirely different to the waste which had been collected from Musicale.
In view of the seriousness of the offence, the Council decided to prosecute Blewitt rather than issue a Fixed Penalty Notice fine.
He admitted the offence of fly-tipping under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 at the court hearing.
Magistrates sentenced him to the suspended jail term and ordered him to pay a total of £3,417.34 which he agreed to do so at a rate of £100 a month.
The figure included a contribution to the Council’s costs of £2,279.34, £984 compensation to Musicale and a £154 victim surcharge.
Councillor Edgar Hill, Lead for Recycling and Waste, said after the hearing:
This was one of the most outrageous fly-tips our enforcement team has had to deal with.
It is appalling that this foul material was dumped in the grounds of a busy Harpenden school exposing young people to potential harm.
The court clearly agreed with our decision to prosecute the offender instead of issuing a fine and I am pleased that a suspended prison sentence was imposed.
Fly-tips are a criminal offence and there is no excuse for them – they are unsightly, cost significant sums to clear up and can be, as was the case in this instance, a health and safety hazard.
This case shows that when we have the evidence, we will not hesitate to take action against offenders and prosecute the worst ones.
Photos: above, the fly-tip at Musicale; below, the Atlas Waste van caught on CCTV.
Contact for the media: John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer: 01727-819533; john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk.