On 28 September 2026 the NSW Environment Protection Authority announced that Nima Tajik, the former owner and director of Sydney skip bin company Skipcorp Pty Ltd, had been convicted and fined $50,000 in Parramatta Local Court. Instead of disposing of the waste Skipcorp collected lawfully, he had been trucking it to a rural property at Grantham Farm, near Blacktown, and leaving it there in skips.
When EPA officers looked inside, they found almost 1,200 tonnes of building and demolition waste in close to 130 skip bins. Around 29 tonnes of it was asbestos waste.
What the EPA found
The EPA investigated in 2022. According to the EPA, waste from hundreds of skip bins was stored at the property over about nine months, and the site was not licensed to accept that type of waste. Officers found tiles, bricks, soil, concrete and timber in the skips, along with the asbestos.
The EPA also said many of the skips were uncovered and there were few controls to stop the waste affecting the surrounding area. EPA Director of Field Operations David Gathercole said the conduct was "undertaken purely for financial reasons, despite there being a clear risk to the environment and the community."
The charges and the penalty
Mr Tajik pleaded guilty to two offences:
- unlawfully transporting waste
- unlawfully using a place as a waste facility
The court fined him $50,000, and half of that will be paid to the EPA as a moiety. He must also pay $2,353 towards the EPA's investigation costs.
The prosecution was brought against Mr Tajik personally, not just against the company. "The EPA will continue to pursue individuals and companies that put profit before their environmental responsibilities," Mr Gathercole said.
Why a skip hire case matters to asbestos professionals
Skip bins are where a lot of small-job asbestos waste starts its journey. Bathroom renovations, eave replacements and minor demolition often generate bonded asbestos that ends up in a hired skip or a skip-style bag. Sometimes it is properly wrapped and declared. Sometimes it is buried under bricks and timber.
This case shows what can happen to that waste after the truck leaves. The household, builder or removalist who filled the skip may have paid a disposal fee in good faith. Yet the asbestos sat uncovered on a paddock near Blacktown for months instead of going to a licensed landfill.
It echoes EPA Victoria's recent $340,000 Supreme Court outcome against Renex over the transport of asbestos-contaminated soil. We covered that case in EPA Victoria's $340k Renex Penalty. The legislation differs between states, but regulators on both sides of the border are asking the same question: did you check where the waste ended up?
What this means for operators and duty holders
- Do not put asbestos in a general skip. Asbestos waste should be wrapped, labelled and moved by a transporter licensed or authorised for asbestos in your state, then taken to a facility that can lawfully accept it. A general building waste skip is not that pathway unless the provider is specifically set up and licensed for asbestos.
- Check your waste contractor. Before you hire a skip or waste company, confirm its environment protection licence and ask which facility your waste goes to. A cheap quote for mixed demolition waste is a warning sign.
- Keep the paper trail. Hold on to tip dockets and weighbridge receipts, plus any waste tracking records your state requires. If your waste turns up somewhere it should not be, those records are your evidence.
- Directors are exposed personally. This conviction was entered against a former director as an individual. Running the business through a company does not shield the people making decisions.
- Talk to your clients. Homeowners and builders often assume that whatever goes into a hired skip is handled properly. Licensed removalists who explain the proper disposal pathway, and show the dockets afterwards, give clients a reason to choose them over a cheaper skip.
The bigger picture
A $50,000 fine for nine months of illegal storage, nearly 1,200 tonnes of waste and 29 tonnes of asbestos may look modest. Still, a conviction, a personal penalty and a public naming by the EPA are serious consequences for anyone in the waste or demolition trade.
If you need a licensed asbestos removalist or assessor who can show you exactly where your waste goes, search the AsbestosList directory.