Business pays £5,319 after waste found dumped on National Trust estate

Sokin Group Ltd, of Selbourne Road, Luton, has pleaded guilty to offences of failing in its ‘duty of care’ regarding waste which was found illegally dumped in a field on the National Trust Ashridge Estate on the Buckinghamshire-Hertfordshire border.

The business pleaded guilty at Wycombe Magistrates Court on 18 February 2015 and was sentenced on Wednesday (4 March 2015).

The court heard that on 7 October 2013, a large amount of mixed commercial wastes were found dumped in a field off Stocks Road, Ivinghoe. The field forms part of the National Trust Ashridge Estate and was being used to graze Heritage Belted Galloway cattle. A National Trust Ranger reported the waste to the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire.

The waste was examined by a Waste Partnership investigator and was traced to Sokin Group Ltd and their premises in Luton.

The company stated that they had paid a ‘man with van’ to remove the waste. They had not checked his waste carrier registration details and had no proof of his identity. They provided details about the man later, including photographs, a hand written receipt and a mobile telephone number. Investigation of the alleged waste carrier is ongoing.

The Magistrates fined Sokin Group £2,000 and ordered clean-up and prosecution costs of £3,219.63. A victim surcharge of £100 was also levied, making a total to pay of £5,319.63.

The case was prosecuted by Buckinghamshire County Council working on behalf of the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire.

The Waste Partnership launched the ‘Illegal Dumping Costs’ campaign in October 2003 to combat illegal dumping and waste management offences in Buckinghamshire. Since then, the Partnership has secured 467 convictions against individuals and companies for illegal dumping and related offences. On average, there is at least one conviction per week for illegal dumping offences in Buckinghamshire. This has resulted in a halving of reported incidents and a saving of over £1 million for residents.

We’ve made reporting fly-tipping easy: upload details including location and photos online or on your mobile at www.buckscc.gov.uk/fly