A HAULAGE and waste company has been prosecuted for tipping waste on an illegal dumping site.
Paul Foster of Roll On Off Services claims one of his drivers heard the site on Joyce Green Lane, Dartford, allowed waste to be dumped for free.
But the Environment Agency claimed Mr Foster failed to check whether the site held a valid waste-disposal licence and took it for granted it was legal.
The Woolwich-based company, which pleaded guilty at Dartford Magistrates' Court to one count of disposing controlled waste on an unlicensed site and two counts of failing to ensure drivers employed by the firm complied with the legislation, was fined £4,645.
Video evidence showing two lorries, each bearing the company's logo, dumping waste at the site of Nature Conservation Interest on Dartford Marshes was used in the prosecution.
Environment Agency officer Tom Haysler said: "Failure to follow the correct guidelines of tipping at licensed sites puts the environment at significant and unnecessary risk."
"Tipping soil on Dartford Marshes can block drainage ditches and jeopardise the protected habitat of species such as the water vole."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article