Kent man who ran illegal waste business convicted

A man from Kent has been convicted after the harmful way he handled waste on the banks of the River Thames.

Jack Selby is starting an eight-month suspended prison sentence for running an unlicensed waste treatment operation at Erith that caught fire and threatened the area from flooding.

A court ordered the site be closed at the request of the Environment Agency.

The 36-year-old, of Water Lane, Headcorn, near Ashford, was sole director of Selbys Ltd.

The company took in construction, demolition and household waste in rented premises in Maypole Crescent on the Darent Industrial Estate for eleven months across 2021 and 2022.

After believing Selby was handling waste illegally on the industrial estate in late 2020, investigators made a series of visits to confirm their suspicions.

They found the site stacked with large piles of waste like wood and plastic, along with a significant amount of crushed waste.

In February last year, some of the waste caught fire. London Fire Brigade spent a day putting the flames out.

Matt Higginson, an environment manager for the Environment Agency in south London and Kent, said: “Jack Selby broke the law for financial gain. Not only did he charge customers but treated waste illegally. He also skipped fees for managing a lawful waste operation.

“There were several implications from his and his company’s operation – the risk of air pollution from the scale of the business, a poor understanding of fire-risk from how the waste was stored, and the damage to the flood embankment protecting riverside businesses.

“Selby’s suspended jail term must serve as a strong reminder to everyone in the waste industry, from companies to individuals, to operate within the law.”

Selby also has to complete 60 hours of unpaid work and pay a victim surcharge of £156.

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