The operator of a landfill who had his waste management licence taken away in 2003, has been ordered to pay £400,000 by October, or face three years in jail.
Malachy Higgins has already served a four-month prison sentence for disposal of waste causing pollution and breaching water discharge rules. Mr Higgins's landfill site in Garvagh, County Londonderry, took in biodegradable waste, when it had only been licensed to take waste from skips such as builders rubble and stones. Mr Higgins will be subject to a confiscation order, after a hearing decided that he had profited by running the illegal landfill.
The Confiscation Order came in a case brought by the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA), which works to obtain any assets resulting from criminal activities under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. ARA deputy director of operations, Charlie Dickin said, "I am delighted as this is the fourth case of illegal dumping where the ARA has worked with Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) resulting in a total of £845,120 in confiscation orders being granted. We are determined to rid society of those with parasitic lifestyles who are intent on feeding off our community."
However, the EHS believes the illegal deposit of waste in Northern Ireland is extremely profitable to those involved because of the disparity in disposal costs, since landfill costs in the Republic of Ireland can average between £160-260 per tonne, whilst charges in Northern Ireland are typically £30-50 per tonne.
A spokesman for the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland (DoE NI) said, "This serves to illustrate the scale of illegal earnings that can be made from waste. Criminality involving waste not only pollutes our environment, but prevents genuine law-abiding waste businesses from being able to succeed in Northern Ireland. We will continue to use confiscation powers to remove benefit from such criminal activity."
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