Roy Brett and his company RJ Brett Contracts pleaded guilty to multiple breaches of environmental law committed between 2024 and 2026 at a site on Lanham Green Lane in Cressing, near Braintree.
The offences relate to the unlawful storage and handling of waste at the rural site, which became increasingly congested with skips and loose material.
Investigators found that the volume of waste far exceeded what would be permitted under any exemption.
Materials stored included wood, metal, textiles, builders’ waste, mattresses and soil, much of it contained in overflowing skips.
At its worst, the yard held around 50 skips, some stacked on top of each other, alongside large piles of wood and soil.
‘Doesn’t seen plausible’ for operator to not know permit rules
The Environment Agency (EA) brought the prosecution following a prolonged period of non-compliance, during which Brett ignored both written instructions and face-to-face warnings to clear waste from the yard.
Lesley Robertson, enforcement team leader for the EA in Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, said: “Roy Brett is a director of three other skip-hire companies in Essex.
“It doesn’t seem plausible that someone with his years of experience in the waste industry misunderstood that he didn’t need an environmental permit or what low-risk activity was allowed for exemption from needing one.
“Brett and his company undercut rivals by avoiding permitting and subsistence fees. They also evaded permit conditions designed to protect the environment.”
The court heard that Brett operated the site without the required environmental permit, despite presenting the business as legitimate.
Regulators said the company gained a financial advantage by avoiding permit and subsistence fees, while also sidestepping conditions designed to protect the environment.
Brett claimed he had missed key correspondence because he “didn’t do e-mails”, an explanation dismissed in light of the sustained engagement from officers over two years.
Essex Fire and Rescue Service also raised concerns, warning Brett about fire risks and instructing him to remove combustible material and improve site conditions.
Two-year probe leads to legal action
The EA said Brett had initially been registered to carry out low-risk waste activities under exemptions, but these were revoked as the scale of offending escalated.
Concerns about the site were first raised in summer 2024, prompting an initial inspection which identified more than a dozen full skips emitting a strong odour.
Brett was given three months to clear the waste.
However, follow-up visits in October 2024 found no meaningful improvement, leading to a formal cease-and-desist letter warning of potential prosecution.
By January 2025, the compliance deadline had passed and conditions had deteriorated further, with the number of skips rising significantly and additional waste stockpiled across the site.
Despite ongoing engagement, Brett failed to take adequate action, culminating in the EA pursuing legal proceedings.
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