Deal with man in cafe lands hotel manager in court

Sayem Salam, a 34-year-old hotel manager of Richmond Road, Hillingdon, pleaded guilty on two counts of failing in his duty of care in relation to a large volume of waste found dumped in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, on 8 August 2018.

At the time, Mr Salam was the manager of the Hillingdon Lodge Hotel, Hercies Road, Hillingdon, which was going through refurbishment. As part of this, he was seeking to dispose of a quantity of mattresses and unwanted furniture, and concluded a deal with a man he met in a café who had offered to remove the waste for him for a cash payment.

The furniture was collected from the hotel in two loads - and then dumped in Seven Hills Road, Iver Heath. Enforcement officers from Buckinghamshire County Council attended the scene and found evidence which traced the waste back to Hillingdon Lodge Hotel. When interviewed, Mr Salam admitted that he had not checked the identity of the man from the café, or made any enquiries as to where the waste would be disposed of.

At a hearing at High Wycombe Magistrates Court on 16 October he was fined £700 for each load, and ordered to pay £3,230 in costs and a victim surcharge of £140. The total payment of £4,770 was to be made at the rate of £400 per month.

A spokesman for the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire, said: "Everyone has a responsibility - both in a private and work capacity - to make sure that their waste is disposed of properly, by a reputable waste carrier. This duty of care exists precisely because criminal waste carriers are responsible for a large proportion of fly tipping - as happened in this case."

The case was prosecuted by Buckinghamshire County Council working on behalf of the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire.  The Waste Partnership launched the #SCRAPflytipping campaign in August 2018 to reduce fly-tipping in Buckinghamshire.  The Partnership has secured over 720 convictions against individuals and companies for illegal dumping and related offences.  On average since April 2010, there has been at least one conviction per week for illegal dumping offences in Buckinghamshire.  This has resulted in a halving of reported incidents and a significant saving to the Buckinghamshire taxpayer over the period, principally through reducing removal and disposal costs.

Report fly-tipping in Buckinghamshire at www.fixmystreet.buckscc.gov.uk