A licenced waste operator has been fined and ordered to pay costs of more than £3,000 after ‘revenge dumping’ waste when a company that owed it money entered administration.
The Environment Agency said Timothy Burcham, 70, had behaved in an unprofessional and unacceptable manner after he tipped the waste at a mobile home park in Paignton.
The Medway Waste Solutions owner had previously removed waste from a caravan at Falcon Park Residential Home Park and then invoiced nearly £6,000 for the job, but the company entered insolvency proceedings before paying.
Burcham contacted the new owners stating that if the outstanding debt was not paid he would deposit waste on its site as set out in his terms of service.
After sending harassing texts to a number of people working at the site demanding payment, he carried out his threat a few days later.
Controlled waste was dumped on three separate occasions in car parks on the site. It was not the same waste that had been removed from site originally, but from other places including a house clearance, building waste and roof tiles confirmed by laboratory testing as containing asbestos.
The police were called after a resident confronted Burcham and videoed his actions.
Magistrates fined Burcham £243 and ordered him to pay costs of £2,953.49 and a £97 victim surcharge.
