Iwade Man Fined £22k After Depositing Illegal Waste

The Environment Agency has successfully prosecuted an Iwade man, who was fined £4,500 and ordered to pay £6,779 costs, a £190 victims’ surcharge and £11,086 in compensation to Iron Mountain (UK) PLC, at Sevenoaks Magistrates Court. The total came to £22,555, with the magistrate took into account his guilty plea during sentencing.

Michael Shilling, aged 61 and of Raspberry Hill Park Farm in Iwade, pleaded guilty to controlling, or being in a position to control the use of, a Scania skip loader. He also pleaded guilty to knowingly causing waste to be unlawfully deposited at Gills Terrace, Otterham Quay Lane in Rainham, a site owned by Iron Mountain (UK), on Monday 14th December 2020. CCTV captured Shilling's truck entering the site 3 times.

Matt Higginson, Environment Manager for the Environment Agency, told SFM News: "This prosecution and the seizure and crushing of the vehicle shows that we will search out and prosecute anyone found to be dumping waste illegally. Illegally depositing waste without regard for the environment and the law has the potential to harm our natural resources. It is also a blight on communities and undermine the legitimate businesses that follow the rules. You won’t get away with it. We encourage everyone to check that their waste collector is registered as a waste carrier".

The waste found on site was shredded material comprising plastics, paper, mattress fabric and fibre and an employee of Iron Mountain (UK) made a statement saying the waste was smouldering when he arrived at work at the site on Tuesday 15th December 2020. On Thursday 25th February 2021, an Environment Agency officer, accompanied by Kent Police, visited Raspberry Hill Park, near Iwade and they located the lorry used on 14th December to deposit the waste. The Environment Agency and Kent Police seized and crushed the vehicle for alleged waste offences.