Ex-Builder Jailed for Dumping Deadly Asbestos Worth £3 Million
A former builder has been slammed with a 32-month jail term after cashing in nearly £3 million by dumping toxic asbestos on his Devon land. Christopher Garrett, 64, allowed a staggering 12,000 tonnes of hazardous waste to pile up on his Kingsteignton property over four years.
Toxic Land to Cost £2.5 Million to Clean – But No Cash Available
Exeter Crown Court heard the shocking truth: cleaning up the contaminated site will cost around £2.5 million. But authorities have admitted they don’t have the funds, leaving the land poisoned and worthless.
Repeat Offender Ignored Warnings, Treated Toxic Waste Like Money-Making Scheme
Garrett had already been convicted for dumping on the same land but restarted his illegal racket in 2016, ignoring a suspended sentence and clear judge warnings. Between July 2018 and May 2022, he admitted to allowing controlled waste that risked serious pollution and harm to human health.
Not only does Garrett face jail time, but he’s hit with a £200,000 confiscation order, enforced when his home near the toxic site is sold.
Judge James Adkin blasted Garrett, saying: “You were unable to resist the lure of significant sums of money to discharge the waste on the land. You did not care about the environment.” He called it “industrial scale environmental contamination by an individual.”
Illegal Dumping Details Revealed: 1,500 Truckloads of Hazardous Waste
- 1,500 vehicle loads of waste dumped
- Waste piled up 1.2 metres deep, covering 10,000 cubic metres
- Asbestos found buried in floodplain – including some of the deadliest types
- Garrett took cash payments to dodge legal disposal costs
The Environment Agency condemned Garrett as a ruthless repeat offender with zero care for human health or the environment. A spokesperson labeled him “the worst offender in Devon and Cornwall for the sheer quantity of asbestos illegally dumped.”
Garrett’s defence lawyer admitted the grim truth: “It’s a bad history, I accept that.”
The toxic land’s now worthless, and the environmental nightmare may continue – all because Garrett chose profit over people.
