Waste operator fined thousands for illegal dumping in Paignton

A licensed waste operator who illegally dumped waste at a Paignton mobile home park has been ordered to pay more than £3,000 in fines and compensation.

Seventy-year-old Timothy Burcham, of Hollam Way, Kingsteignton, and sole owner of Medway Waste Solutions, admitted to depositing controlled waste at a site without an environmental permit. He appeared before Newton Abbot magistrates last month in a case brought by the Environment Agency.

The court heard that in July 2023, Burcham removed waste from a caravan at Falcon Park Residential Home Park in Paignton and invoiced the site owners, Falcon Park Ltd, nearly £6,000. However, the company went into liquidation before paying.

After contacting the new site owners, LT Management Services Ltd, Burcham was assured they would attempt to recover payment from the liquidators. He was also contracted for another job on site, earning approximately £14,900.

Despite this, Burcham sent an email in November to LT Management Services Ltd’s Director of Operations, threatening to return and dump waste on the site if the outstanding debt was not settled, referencing his terms of service. Days later, after sending harassing texts to multiple individuals at the site, Burcham carried out his threat.

Waste was dumped on three separate occasions in the site's car parks. The materials included house clearance waste, building debris, roof tiles containing asbestos, food waste, garden furniture, black sacks, a mattress, cardboard boxes, and items from Burcham’s own premises. Laboratory testing confirmed the presence of hazardous asbestos.

The waste disposal was captured on video by a resident, prompting police intervention. When interviewed by the Environment Agency, Burcham admitted to dumping the waste but claimed it was not the material he had originally removed from the site. He also acknowledged including sensitive personal information, such as a birth certificate and banking details, among the dumped waste but denied depositing asbestos-containing tiles despite photographic evidence.

The cleanup cost LT Management Services Ltd nearly £2,800. Magistrates fined Burcham £243, ordered him to pay £2,953.49 in costs, and imposed a £97 victim surcharge.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “Despite being a licensed waste operator, Mr Burcham behaved in an unprofessional and unacceptable manner, depositing waste illegally. We hope he will now learn a lesson and work with proper regard for the environment, his customers, and the waste industry.”