The inquest last week into the fatality heard that Neville Watson, an industrial cleaner employed by New Earth Solutions, died on the morning of Saturday (August 9).
Local reports of the inquest say that Mr Watson, who lived at Lakeside in Snodland, was working at the Blaise Farm composting facility when a pile of waste fell on him and he was suffocated.
Despite performing CPR upon arrival, paramedics from the South East Coast Ambulance Service pronounced him dead at the scene. No one else was injured.
A post-mortem examination conducted three days after the incident found that Mr Watson had died of asphyxiation.
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has confirmed it is investigating the incident and will produce a report on what happened. A pre-inquest review will take place at the Archbishops Palace in Maidstone in October 2014.
Blaise Farm
Darren Stockley, managing director of New Earth Solutions, said: Neville was a popular member of our site team at Blaise, where he had worked since January this year. We are all deeply shocked and saddened by his death. Colleagues have visited his family and given our condolences and sympathy.
In addition to paying tribute to Neville, who will be greatly missed, I wish to thank all those who assisted him after the accident, including the Emergency Services. We also are grateful for the messages of condolence we have received from others, which are being passed on to the family.
Family members and friends have also left tributes on Mr Watsons Facebook page.
The Blaise Farm in-vessel composting facility was officially opened in November 2008 and has the capacity to treat 50,000 tonnes of organic waste every year (see letsrecycle.com story).
The plant was developed under a 15-year contract between Kent county council and New Earth Solutions, with compost outputs utilised across agriculture, land remediation and regeneration activities in the Kent region.
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