King Street Dry Cleaners Caught Dumping Hazardous Waste
Hefty fine after chemicals found in fly-tip in Redbridge nature reserve
Toxic m aterials from the dry cleaner were found at Aldborough Hall Nature Reserve Picture: Redbridge Council
A Hammersmith dry-cleaning business has been fined more than £10,000 after hazardous chemicals linked to its operations were found dumped in a Redbridge nature reserve.
Palm Dry Cleaners Ltd, based on King Street, and its director Shazia Nadeer, were prosecuted by Redbridge Council following the discovery of commercial waste at Aldborough Hall Nature Reserve, an extension of Fairlop Waters Country Park.
The case began when Redbridge’s Neighbourhood Enforcement Team was alerted by local residents to a large-scale fly-tip at the popular wildlife site. Officers arriving at the scene found three distinct piles of waste, including blue dry-cleaning bags, cardboard boxes, plastic chemical bottles and two open metal drums containing remnants of super-stabilised perchloroethylene — a hazardous solvent used in the dry-cleaning industry.
The chemical, a colourless liquid known to pose health risks and environmental harm, must be disposed of safely under strict regulations. Empty bottles of another cleaning agent, ‘Jolly Smak’ , were also found among the debris, raising further concerns for the surrounding wildlife.
Enforcement officer Ron Clayden described the incident as “a large-scale, deliberate illegal waste deposit — one of the most complex we’ve encountered within the borough.” Officers spent three days examining the waste to trace its origin, eventually linking it to Palm Dry Cleaners Ltd and its director.
When questioned, Nadeer was unable to provide documentation showing how the business disposed of its waste or evidence of lawful waste-transfer arrangements. The council subsequently brought charges under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for failing to prevent the unlawful deposit of controlled waste and failing to produce waste-transfer notes.
Appearing at Barkingside Magistrates Court on Tuesday 12 May, Nadeer pleaded guilty to both offences. She was fined and ordered to pay a victim surcharge and council costs totalling £3,773, while Palm Dry Cleaners Ltd was fined £7,004, bringing the combined total to £10,777.
Redbridge’s Cabinet Member for Enforcement, Community Safety and Cohesion, Cllr Sunny Brar, said, “This deplorable violation of our nature reserve is quite rightly being met with the toughest of legal actions. We have zero tolerance for grime crime in Redbridge. All businesses are required to dispose of their commercial waste legally and responsibly, and must have the required documentation to demonstrate how they do this.”
He added that the prosecution should serve as a warning to other businesses acting unlawfully: “We will use the full weight of the law to secure the toughest sentences if your waste is found dumped in Redbridge.”
Further investigations are continuing into other piles of waste discovered at the site, which are not connected to Palm Dry Cleaners Ltd or Nadeer.
Value Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |