A 66-year-old man who hired and collected skips has been handed a prison sentence of six months, suspended for two years, for carrying out illegal waste operations at a site in Corby.
The Environment Agency successfully prosecuted the man at Northampton Crown Court last week.
The man pleading guilty to three charges of:
Sarah Dunne, prosecuting for the Environment Agency said that the man had failed to respond to Environment Agency warnings and advice and had persisted with his offending behaviour over a number of months.
Trading under the name of Abbey Skips, the man had a previous conviction for similar offending at the Fineshade site in Corby. The site had previously been a permitted waste transfer station, but following persistent non-compliance on the site, including burning waste, the permit was revoked in 2012.
After new complaints in 2017, officers attending the site saw large volumes of waste including broken corrugated asbestos and burning waste, giving off noxious fumes and a bad odour. Officers also found hazardous waste including cement-bonded asbestos on an area that had no sealed drainage.
Anyone transporting waste as part of their business, whether its their waste or someone else's, has to register for a Waste Carriers Licence. Any site that is used to store waste needs to be permitted, and would need to meet requirements such as sealed drainage, and limits on amount and type of waste.
The Judge said that the man had committed "prolonged, blatant breaches of regulations designed to protect the environment".
He received a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and was ordered to pay £9,185 towards the costs of the Environment Agency, and victim surcharge of £115.
Paul Salter, Senior Environmental Crime Officer at the Environment Agency, commented "waste crime is a serious offence with tough penalties as it can damage the environment, blight local communities and undermine those who operate illegally".
"Burning waste is illegal and poses a serious risk to the environment and human health. The motive is nearly always financial as it reduces the amount of waste a company has to legally dispose of".
