On Thursday, 31 May 2018, Dib Hanna was sentenced to three years in prison, being the first person to be jailed in the NSW Land and Environment Court under the 2014 anti-dumping legislation.
Mr Hanna is being called Sydney’s most notorious waste dumper after repeatedly been caught illegally dumping asbestos over the past ten years.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority commenced its prosecution in 2016, Mr Hanna failed to appear in Court to answer the charges and he was arrested in Victoria and extradited to NSW. This was the first time that a person had been extradited in relation to environmental offences.
Mr Hanna pled guilty to one charge of illegal transport of waste and four counts of illegal dumping of waste on private properties during 2015 and 2016.
The Court heard that Mr Hanna had advertised free clean top soil, clay and crushed by way of a letterbox drop bitumen and when he was contacted by interested residents he would send truck drivers to dump waste, including asbestos at their homes. It was found that Mr Hanna instructed the dumping of some 461 tonnes of waste, including asbestos to people’s homes.
As well as the prison sentence Mr Hanna was ordered to clean up the dumped waste, pay the Environment Protection Authority’s legal costs and take out newspaper advertisements publicising his punishment as a deterrent to other would-be offenders.
Mr Hanna’s sentences was backdated to 17 April 2017, the earliest Mr Hanna can be released is 16 July 2020.
For any further advice or legal assistance on this issue, please contact us at Coutts Lawyers & Conveyancers on 1300 268 887.
