Swansea man given suspended sentence for waste offences despite previous convictions

Nation.Cymru staff

A Swansea man has been given a suspended custodial sentence for illegally depositing waste on land in south Wales.

Christian Craig Astill, 37, of Lon Einon, Penllergaer, Swansea, was sentenced to 22 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, after pleading guilty to depositing controlled waste on land in Llanelli without an environmental permit.

The sentence was imposed at Swansea Magistrates’ Court, which also ordered Astill to undertake up to 20 days of rehabilitation activity and complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

The prosecution was brought by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) following an investigation into the unauthorised deposit of waste at Erw Las between February 2023 and June 2024.

The waste included household waste, construction and demolition materials, mattresses, electrical items, plastics, metal, tyres, furniture and other mixed waste. The site had no environmental permit authorising waste activities.

The waste permitting system is in place to ensure that waste is stored, treated and disposed of only at properly authorised sites with the infrastructure and controls necessary to protect the environment and human health.

During inspections carried out by NRW and Carmarthenshire County Council officers, significant quantities of waste were found across the site. Despite intervention by regulators and requests to remove the waste and cease unauthorised activities, further waste was deposited.

During the course of the investigation, NRW officers experienced repeated aggressive and abusive behaviour from Astill, requiring police attendance during regulatory visits. As a result of concerns arising from his conduct and his compliance history, regulatory action was also taken to revoke his waste carrier licence.

Previous convictions

Astill has previous convictions for waste offences, including convictions in 2021 and 2023 for depositing controlled waste without an environmental permit. These previous offences were considered alongside the seriousness and duration of the current offending. The court heard mitigation relating to periods of ill health experienced by Astill.

However, the offending continued over an extended period and the site remained unauthorised for waste operations throughout the relevant period.

Edward Davies, Waste Regulation Team Leader said: “This case demonstrates that waste crime will not be tolerated in Wales. The waste permitting system exists to protect people, communities and the environment.

“Anyone who deposits, stores or manages waste must ensure they have the correct authorisations in place and comply with the law. In this case, substantial quantities of waste were deposited on land with no environmental permit despite repeated engagement by regulators.

“Waste crime can blight communities, damage the environment and undermine legitimate operators who invest in complying with environmental regulations.

“We assess all reports of suspected waste crime and will take action where it is appropriate, proportionate and supported by the available evidence.”

Anyone who suspects illegal waste activity can report it to NRW’s incident hotline on 0300 065 3000 or via the NRW website.

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