THE MAN behind a company which claimed to specialise in asbestos removal has been fined almost $100,000 for dumping the harmful material and piles of rubbish in bushland near Newcastle.
Ross Parker Davis was operating as a contractor under the name "Best Price Demolitions Asbestos and Rubbish Removal" when he was tasked to demolish a Tanilba Bay dwelling in 2021.
He charged the property owners an extra $8000 on top of his usual fee to safely dispose of asbestos and clear some trees.
But, instead of taking the waste to a lawful disposal site, he drove a few kilometres away and dumped four piles of rubbish onto private properties at Medowie and Oyster Cove.
Davis did not front up to Raymond Terrace Local Court on Thursday, where he was convicted of six charges in his absence and ordered to cough up $95,495 in fines and legal costs.
The court heard that despite dumping the piles in September or October of 2021, and being served a notice from council in November 2021, the rubbish had still not been cleared from the properties.
Port Stephens Council investigated the illegal dumping and brought the matter before the court.
A document detailing the offending was handed up, as well as a map and photos which clearly showed bricks, tiles, timber, green waste, concrete and general litter in piles.
The court heard one of the four piles contained asbestos, while one of them was not subject to criminal charges.
Magistrate Justin Peach said it was a serious example of environmental offending.
"It is his company, he seems to be the one who is solely responsible," Mr Peach said at sentencing.
He said Davis must have been aware that he couldn't simply dump asbestos and other waste, because he had specifically charged his customers more to dispose of it.
"He's dumped them on other people's property in the bush," Mr Peach said.
"Asbestos is a particularly harmful material ... it's been the subject of much judicial and legislative management over the years because of its harmful nature."
Mr Peach said it appeared a "significant harm" to the environment could have been caused because the rubbish, including the asbestos material, was exposed to wind and water.
He said the areas would need to be remediated.
The six charges Davis faced carried a combined maximum penalty of $2.25 million in fines.
Mr Peach hit him with $85,000 in fines and ordered he pay $10,495 in legal fees for Port Stephens Council.
He said an extensive investigation would have taken place after the council was alerted to the waste piles by property owners in October 2021.
He said deterring anyone else in the community from environmental offending was important.
Davis faced charges of transporting asbestos waste to an unlawful facility, disposing asbestos waste at a place not lawful to receive it, failing to comply with a clean-up notice, carrying out development not in accordance with consent, and two counts of transporting waste to an unlawful facility.
He was given 14 days by the court to clean up the waste and prove to the council he had disposed of it properly.
