Wilton Waste Management Ltd and its director Richard Stannard have been told to pay a total £67,500 after being prosecuted for improperly storing their waste and operating without correct permits.
The company had been operating illegally for just over a year and last week was prosecuted for its crimes. The company itself was fined £30,000 and asked to pay £25,000 in court costs. Former director Richard Stannard was personally fined £10,000, told to pay £2,500 in court costs and banned from directorship of a company for 12 months.
During sentencing the District Judge Daniel Curtis said the company had showed complete disregard for the correct regulations and that he hoped the fine would prove to be a deterrent to others.
The site in Humberton, Grimsby, was collecting and storing waste from skips sent out to local businesses and households but was operating without a permit from the day it opened in April 2010. Wilton Waste was warned of the illegality of the site and was told to shut down but decided to continue operations. Although the company eventually registered as a waste carrier, it never obtained its permit.
When Environment Agency and council planning enforcement officers visited the site they found in excess of 20,000 tonnes of waste, in breach of regulations. The inert waste was contaminated with items that should have been stored separately such as: lead batteries, fuel containers and fire extinguishers. Improper storage risked polluting public water supply boreholes three miles away.
Stannard resigned as director of the company in September 2010, but the site stayed open until April 2011. Over the year it was operational Wilton Waste was estimated to have made £382,000 from the site.
Environment Agency officer Paul Payne said: “Waste crime puts the environment and human health at risk and undermines legitimate businesses. These offenders risked causing pollution and made money in the process. This conviction sends a clear message that we will investigate illegal waste operations and take the necessary action to get them stopped and hold illegal waste operators to account.”
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