Christopher Garrett has been jailed for 32 months after he dumped around 12,000 tonnes of controlled mixed construction and demolition waste, including asbestos, on a floodplain in Devon.
The Environment Agency said Garrett, 64, is thought to be the “worst offender” it has seen in Devon and Cornwall for the quantity of asbestos he illegally disposed of.
Garrett pleaded guilty to running a waste facility without a permit, and for disposing of waste material, namely asbestos, in a manner likely to harm the environment or human health.
He was sentenced to 32 months in prison, of which he will serve half, and ordered to pay over £200,000 as part of a Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation sum.
Exeter Crown Court heard that Garrett repeatedly imported waste onto his land despite being prosecuted previously and receiving multiple warnings from the Environment Agency.
During sentencing, Judge Adkin described the offences as “industrial scale environmental contamination committed by an individual”.
The Court heard that between July 2018 and May 2022 around 12,000 tonnes of controlled waste (mixed construction and demolition waste) was deposited on land designated as a floodplain at Garrett’s home, alongside the A380 dual carriageway.
He burnt some of the waste and buried large quantities of Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM), posing a risk to the environment and human health, the Environment Agency said.
Garrett is a repeat offender who showed no care for the environment or to human health.
The investigation established that Garrett had received hundreds of thousands of pounds for the illegal tipping and that it would cost at least £2.5 million to remediate the site. His combined financial benefit from the offending was put at £2.88 million, including the remediation costs.
In 2016, Garrett received a two-year suspended prison sentence for allowing asbestos waste to be disposed of at the site without a permit, and in 2019, the Environment Agency heard that he was again importing waste to his land.
The Environment Agency said officers made several site visits, including on one occasion with a police escort due to the hostile nature of the defendant towards Environment Agency staff.
Garrett was prosecuted in early 2022 for an offence under the Public Order Act for his behaviour towards Environment Agency officers.
In May 2022, the regulator obtained a warrant to allow a search of Garrett’s property and extensive site investigations using heavy machinery.
Bags containing asbestos were found buried in the ground and the site was covered with smaller fragments of the hazardous waste, the Environment Agency said.
Following the hearing, an Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Garrett is a repeat offender who showed no care for the environment or to human health.
“He took no notice of the previous warnings given by the courts and the Environment Agency and imported hazardous waste, burying it to make a quick profit.
“We are extremely pleased that he has now been brought to book and are working with our partners to establish what will happen to the site going forward.”
