Men sentenced for dumping waste on farmland in Cardiff
Two men have been sentenced for illegally dumping waste on farmland in Cardiff following a successful prosecution by Natural Resources Wales (NRW).
Kyle Gordon Mason and John Brian Janes were sentenced at Newport Crown Court after pleading guilty to waste offences.
Mr Mason, 46 from Dickens Avenue, Llanrumney, Cardiff, was sentenced on 1 August 2025 to 14 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay £200 in costs to NRW and an undisclosed victim surcharge.
Mr Janes, 52 from New Road, Rumney, Cardiff, was sentenced at an earlier hearing on 2 May 2025 and ordered to pay a fine of £500, £750 in costs to NRW and a victim surcharge of £200.
In 2021, NRW started an investigation following the dumping of mixed household, building and green waste in three fields near the St Mellons Business Park in Cardiff. Some of this land is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Multiple van loads were found in three fields owned by three different landowners, and evidence relating to both defendants and the businesses Mr Mason was director of was found in the waste.
The investigation continued into 2022. Surveillance footage was obtained by Liberton Investigations on 10 June 2022 showing a transit flatbed vehicle with number plates removed drive into one of the fields carrying what appeared to be waste, and leave empty.
Mr Mason and Mr Janes were interviewed during the investigation but denied the waste offences. However, due to the evidence collected against them, they later pleaded guilty in court.
Mr Mason pleaded guilty to dumping five van loads of waste in these fields and Mr Janes pleaded guilty to dumping a bag of household waste.
John Rock, Operations Manager for NRW, said:
“Waste illegally deposited can have a devastating impact on farming businesses and rural communities. The waste can be extremely costly and time-consuming to remove and can be harmful to wildlife and livestock.
“Kyle Mason and John Janes have shown a complete disregard to the environment by dumping their waste on farmland. Mr Mason also avoided costs of legally disposing the waste collected through his business, which undercuts legitimate businesses who abide by the rules.
“The joint working with Gwent Police on this case has been hugely beneficial and we’d also like to thank the Cardiff residents who provided supporting evidence for this case.
“People should be vigilant of fly-tippers. Avoid putting your waste into their hands by checking if they have a waste carrier licence at naturalresources.wales/checkwastelicence.”
Sentencing, including fines, for environmental offences is decided by the courts and is based on the level of harm, culpability, and the financial means of the defendants.
Large scale dumping of waste or damage to Sites of Special Scientific Interest should be reported to NRW’s 24/7 incident communications centre online at naturalresources.wales/reportit or by calling 03000 65 3000.