A shonky ex-truckie who organised for tonnes of asbestos-laden fill to be dumped at a Croom property, then repeatedly ignored orders from the environmental watchdog to clean it up, has been hit with a $140,000 penalty in court.
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Christopher Binos pleaded guilty in Wollongong Local Court last week to one count of failing to complying with a clean up notice issued to him by the Environmental Protection Authority in mid-2019, six months after he dumped more than 1000 tonnes of contaminated waste fill at a site on Croome Vale Road owned by Boral Resources.
Documents tendered to the court said the home owner wanted to repave his 500m driveway and, after receiving the go-ahead from Boral, contacted Binos on January 4, 2019 through a Gumtree post advertising the delivery of sandstone, shale and clay for free.
Binos, whose business card said he was an "earthworks agents" told the man he could arrange for "clean slate" to be delivered, compacted and sealed with a coat of bitumen for free.
The man agreed and the first load of fill arrived on January 18.
The man estimated there were up to 50 truck deliveries over the next month. He said he twice told Binos he was concerned about how much fill was being delivered, reminding him that Boral had said the driveway was only allowed to be 600mm thick.
Binos told him not to worry and he knew what he was doing.
The home owner said he also repeatedly asked Binos during the same timer period for certificates confirming the fill was clean, but Binos failed to hand any over.
The court heard Boral employees inspected the fill in late February and immediately contacted the EPA with concerns.
The EPA workers tested samples from six piles of fills, all of which were found to contain asbestos.
When contacted, Binos claimed he was only responsible for about 10 truck loads of fill at the site.
He was issued with a formal clean up notice on August 1, 2019 but failed to comply. The contaminated waste remains on the site.
In court last week, prosecutor Jillian Caldwell said Binos's actions in failing to adhere to the notice were deliberate, noting he committed a similar offence at a property in Vineyard owned by celebrity television vet Rob Zammit, and another at a property in Mowbray Park.
"There's nothing to suggest he's remorseful for his actions," she said.
"His criminal and regulatory history demonstrates an ongoing disregard of the law."
Magistrate Greg Elks found Binos's offending at the high end of the range given the amount of fill at the site.
"Asbestos is known to be an extreme hazard for people ... there are a number of lung diseases that are attributable to asbestos," he said.
"I'm told the environmental hazard this created is still not cleaned up and as such, is still presenting an extreme hazard to all those around it.
"He's not accepting his responsibilities and his actions were deliberate.
"It concerns me greatly that the offender seems to have placed his financial gain above the wellbeing of the environment and the community."
Magistrate Elks fined Binos $110,000 - the maximum penalty allowed in the Local Court - and ordered he pay $30,000 in legal costs.
Binos remains behind bars on unrelated charges.
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