Unlicensed waste operator ordered to pay fines and costs
A man has been found guilty of waste offences in his absence.
The man was directed to stop by a multi-agency operation staged at Buzz Bingo in Nottingham on 26 September 2019. The man was driving a Ford transit flatbed vehicle at the time of the stop.
Officials found that the vehicle was carrying waste including a tree stump, branches, plastic wrapping, a fence panel and concrete and rubble.
The defendant was given a letter advising him to register as a waste carrier within 10 days. However, a further check on the database on 14 October 2019 showed that no records of a registration had taken place.
Breach
The man was found guilty of breaching Section 1(1) of the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989.
- Section 1(1) makes it an offence to transport controlled waste to or from any place in Great Britain where not registered as a carrier, if this is being undertaken in the course of any business or otherwise with a view to profit.
Penalty
The man was fined £1,100, ordered to pay costs of £2,107.84 and a victim surcharge fee of £110.
Man fined after hindering probe into illegal waste in Kent
A building contractor has been convicted after failing to provide assistance to a criminal investigation.
The man came to the attention of the Environment Agency when the regulator was looking into the illegal dumping of thousands of bales of mixed waste in a warehouse in Kent.
Information obtained by the investigating officers led them to believe the man was likely to hold documents that would assist the wider enquiry.
The Environment Agency wrote to the man in 2019, asking him to supply the papers. Two weeks were given to respond, but the man did not make contact with officers.
When the deadline to reply passed, officers sent a second letter, repeating their request. However, despite the letter clearly stating failure to respond was obstruction and could result in prosecution, officers heard nothing back.
Investigators left a contact card at the man’s address at the end in September 2019, almost 2 months after first trying to make contact with him. This request was also ignored.
A further visit took place in October, when officers were finally able to speak to the man. He was given a copy of the original letter and told the seriousness of the matter, and the importance of responding to the officers’ request. However, he still failed to make any contact with the agency or provide the requested information.
Penalty
The man was fined £660 for ‘failing to provide facilities or assistance or any information or to permit any inspection’ in relation to a criminal investigation. He was also ordered to pay the Environment Agency’s full legal and investigation costs of £2,793.93 and a victim surcharge of £66.
Waste crime offender ordered to pay £2.1 million following confiscation case
A convicted waste crime offender has been ordered to pay more than £2 million following a confiscation case brought by the Environment Agency.
The man had previously received a 26-month custodial sentence in May 2018 for operating an illegal waste site at Ridgeway Park Farm near Pershore between 2011 and 2014. He was initially prosecuted for 6 offences where waste totalling about 25,000 cubic metres was either dumped, buried or burned at the farm.
Worcester Crown Court heard that the defendant had grown his business and had invested in various properties, land and cars. He also owned a large selection of expensive items of heavy plant hire which he hired, bought and resold.
The Judge ruled that a Trust set up by the defendant was a sham and that money held in a bank account operated by the Trust, along with a property, formed part of his criminal benefit. The Judge also determined that Bruce had used a bank account operated by a proxy company to hide his ongoing unlawful activity and used it as he would his own business accounts.
Confiscation
The offender was ordered to pay £2,101,708.
The man has been given 3 months to pay and will face 7 years in jail if he fails to do so.
|
