A Devon waste carrier has been ordered to pay £17,527 after illegally depositing more than 1,300 tonnes of construction waste at an unauthorised site, in a case highlighting serious breaches of environmental regulations and duty of care requirements.

David Gorton, 59, of Denbury Road in Newton Abbot, was sentenced at Newton Abbot Magistrates’ Court after admitting to depositing 1,368 tonnes of soil and stone at land near Kingsteignton between July 2018 and May 2019.

The court heard that Gorton carried out the activity while operating as a registered waste carrier but failed to ensure the site was legally permitted to receive such material.

Following his guilty plea, Gorton was fined £1,466 and ordered to repay £12,300, representing the financial gain obtained through the illegal activity. He was also instructed to pay £3,614 in prosecution costs to the Environment Agency, along with a victim surcharge, bringing the total penalty to £17,527.

The case forms part of a wider investigation into illegal waste activity at Little Lindridge Farm, where thousands of tonnes of mixed construction and demolition waste were discovered.

The landowner, Christopher Garrett, had previously been prosecuted in 2024 after receiving repeated warnings from the Environment Agency.

Authorities said the site, located on a flood plain, posed significant environmental risks. It is estimated that remediation could cost at least £2.5 million, with the deposited waste increasing the likelihood of flooding in the surrounding area.

The court was told that Gorton had been informed by an Environment Agency officer in 2019 that the site was operating illegally, yet continued to deposit waste there. Although the landowner claimed to hold the necessary licence, Gorton failed to verify this independently, breaching his legal obligations as a registered waste carrier.

Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, waste carriers are required to ensure that waste is transferred only to authorised facilities and that proper documentation accompanies each transaction. Gorton’s actions were found to be in violation of these requirements, including the illegal deposit of controlled waste and failure to comply with duty of care provisions.

According to Environment Agency spokesperson, “this illegal eyesore was made possible by waste carriers like Gorton who ignored the law to deposit waste at the site.”

“Waste regulations are in place to protect people and the environment, and it is essential that all companies follow the rules. We would like to remind everyone who produces, transports or disposes of waste that they have a duty of care to ensure it doesn’t end up at a site like this.”
Environment Agency Spokesperson

This development has renewed attention on enforcement of waste regulations and the responsibilities of carriers within the waste management chain, particularly in preventing environmental harm and safeguarding vulnerable land.

Illegal Waste Crime Surges Across UK

A growing body of evidence suggests that waste crime in England is expanding in both scale and sophistication, with recent reports indicating that more than 500 illegal waste sites were active nationwide, including at least 11 classified as large-scale “super-sites.”

These figures point to a systemic challenge for regulators, as enforcement struggles to keep pace with increasingly industrialised dumping operations often linked to organised criminal networks.

High-profile cases have highlighted the environmental and economical consequences of the problem. A massive trash pile of 150 metres in length and six metres in height was uncovered beside the River Cherwell near Kidlington in Oxfordshire, prompting an £8 million emergency clean-up contract to remove around 21,000 tonnes of waste. Similarly, approximately 30,000 tonnes of waste were reportedly dumped on a 1.5-acre plot in Hoades Wood, a designated plot of Special Scientific Interest, over a six-month period in 2023. The Environment Agency is leading the remediation work at both locations.

Other examples have emphasised the legal ramifications for the parties concerned. Authorities discovered approximately 27 tonnes of rubbish on Hook Cliff Farm near Grantham, including hazardous motor materials. Multiple defendants were prosecuted, and the judgements ranged from suspended prison terms to cash penalties and enforcement orders. In one case, the financial advantage from operating without permissions was estimated to be more than £500,000, demonstrating the economic incentives that drive such action. Additional enforcement operations included fines against corporations and considerable donations to environmental charity through official agreements.

Despite these measures, concerns have grown over whether enforcement agencies are appropriately resourced. A 2025 study by the House of Lords’ Environment and Climate Change Committee stated that attempts to combat major waste crime were “critically underprioritised.”

While authorities point to coordinated responses through the Joint Unit for Waste Crime bringing together bodies such as the Environment Agency, police, and financial investigators critics argue that illegal operations often persist for extended periods before action is taken.

Moreover, waste crime is not confined to large-scale criminal enterprises. Under the Waste Duty of Care Code of Practice, any individual or business involved in handling waste carries legal responsibility for its proper storage, description, and transfer. As a result, breaches, even at a small scale, can result in criminal prosecution.