Press release: Worksop waste company fined £15,000 for operating illegally

A Nottinghamshire company has been fined £15,000 for operating an illegal waste site on land adjacent to Sandy Lane in Worksop. The company was also ordered to pay costs of £7,200 and a victim surcharge of £120.

The case against Yorkshire Waste Services Ltd. of Gateford Road, Worksop, was proven in the absence of a company representative at the trial on Friday 2 March 2018 at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court.

Officers from the Environment Agency told the court that the site had been previously used by a company called Trent Valley Recycling Ltd. The site itself is one with a high fire risk due to the waste operations conducted by the previous owners.

This company did have an environmental permit for the site, however this was disclaimed once the company went into liquidation.

Officers discovered that Yorkshire Waste were storing a significant quantity of baled textile waste on the site between April and June last year.

A search of the public register confirmed that a number of companies had registered exemptions for waste activity on the site.

In light of that, and the fact that there was a high fire risk associated with the site, the exemptions were de-registered.

An enforcement notice was served on Yorkshire Waste giving them 21 days to clear the site of illegal waste. However, the waste remained on the site and no attempt was made to clear it.

In passing sentence, the Magistrates said that the company had flagrantly disregarded the law in committing the offences. They noted that the offences took place close to a high risk fire site.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said:

Yorkshire Waste Services has repeatedly put the environment at risk by deliberately ignoring the law for financial gain.

Illegal waste activity such as this has a detrimental impact on the community and environment, as well as undermining legitimate businesses.

The Environment Agency will continue to work hard to ensure enforcement action is taken against those who flout the law.

Anyone who suspects waste is being disposed of on an illegal site should report the matter to the Environment Agency’s incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The charges

• On 15 June 2017 Yorkshire Waste Services Ltd failed, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a notice dated 22 June 2017 pursuant to section 59(1)(a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, in that it failed to remove controlled waste from land at Sandy Lane, Worksop. Contrary to section 59(5) Environmental Protection Act 1990.
• Between 9 April 2017 and 15 June 2017 at a site adjacent to Sandy Lane, Worksop, Yorkshire Waste Services Ltd did operate a regulated facility, namely a waste operation for the deposit, treatment and storage of waste, except under and to the extent authorised by an environmental permit Contrary to Regulations 12 and 38(1)(a) Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.