Business owner sentenced for dodging waste charges

Adeola Coker, 42, of S&C Cleaning Services Ltd, registered at Amba House, 15 College Road, Harrow, was sentenced to 11 months imprisonment suspended for two years and 120 hours of unpaid work at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday 8 August for making off without payment contrary to Section 3 of the Theft Act 1978. 

Between March 2021 and September 2022, Coker and two of her employees were caught visiting the council's Harefield Civic Amenity Site on multiple occasions to dispose of commercial waste using hired vehicles and refused to make the associated payments for doing so.  

When challenged by staff, Coker fraudulently claimed the waste originated from a family member's home, despite evidence clearly showing the waste came from multiple addresses outside of the borough. When pressed, Coker proceeded to subject staff to abusive and use aggressive behaviour, including threats of physical harm. 

During the sentencing, the judge ordered Coker to pay £1,000 compensation to one member of staff who was the main target of her abuse. 

Harefield Civic Amenity Site is free for residents to use to dispose of up to five black bags of domestic waste. Residents with larger loads and visitors or businesses with trade waste will be charged by weight. 

Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council's Cabinet Member for Residents' Services, said: "It's shocking to see the complete disregard shown for the rules and the safety of our staff at the civic amenity site. While rare, we will always take a zero-tolerance approach to this type of behaviour towards our staff and will pursue strict punishments.   

"Every business, no matter how big or small they are, has a responsibility to dispose of their waste correctly.  

"It is important that residents only use a registered waste carrier to avoid becoming a victim of a rogue collector. The law requires anyone who produces waste to ensure that it's disposed of lawfully. If the waste is illegally dumped, then you could be held responsible alongside the business." 

Find out how to dispose of waste correctly in Hillingdon by visiting www.hillingdon.gov.uk/rubbishandrecycling.