Two former directors of Wiltshire waste company Averies Recycling, Lee and David Averies, have pleaded guilty to breaching environmental regulations.
A view of the Marshgate waste site from above
Last week (30 September) at Swindon Crown Court, the brothers pleaded guilty to breaching environmental regulations at three waste sites, Swindon Skips Ltd (SSL) at Brindley Close and Cheney Manor, and Averies Recycling Swindon Ltd (ARSL) at Marshgate in Swindon, Wiltshire.
The guilty pleas for all three sites relate to the treatment, storage and disposal of waste in a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health.
In addition, Calne Aggregate Holdings Ltd – of which Lee Averies is a director – pleaded guilty to breaching environmental regulations at its waste site in Calne, Wiltshire. The charges related to breaches of a permit which increased the risk of pollution and harm to human health – in particular the risk of polluting run-off from the waste in the event of a fire.
Fires
The charges cover the period when two large fires broke out at the Averies sites in Brindley Close and Marshgate in November 2013 and July 2014 respectively.
The fire at Marshate involved 1,000 tonnes of general and building waste and continued to burn for around two months, with the subsequent clear-up believed to have cost in the region of £500,000 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Local businesses and residents were disrupted and affected by smoke, and it was alleged that ARSL did not comply with Environment Agency notices to remove sufficient waste to enable Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service to tackle the blaze.
The Marshgate fire at Averies Recycling on July 21, 2014 (credit: Will Trueman)
The fire at Brindley Close in 2013 burnt for a week and smouldered for some time further, causing disruption to the local business community and delays on the nearby First Great Western main railway line.
Following the fire at Marshgate, the Environment Agency removed the waste carriers licence from ARSL, which meant the company could no longer collect waste from businesses. Environmental permits were also revoked at both sites, which prevented waste being accepted until the risk of serious pollution was removed.
Averies Recyling
Averies Recycling went into voluntary administration in December 2014 and went into liquidation in July 2015.
At a Swindon Magistrates Court hearing in August 2015, the Averies brothers pleaded not guilty to the waste offences brought by the Environment Agency, and the case was moved to the Crown Court (see letsrecycle.com story).
Colin Chiverton, area environment manager for the Environment Agency said: “The Environment Agency has worked hard to minimise the environmental impacts as a result of David Averies’ negligent, and Lee Averies’, reckless mis-management of the site.
“Working in partnership with local authorities, the fire service and Network Rail meant that the impact to the community and environment had been significantly reduced.
“Our officers and contractors worked around the clock to remove waste from the site when the fires broke out to ensure the fire service had the space to extinguish the fires.”
Lee and David Averies will be sentenced on 26 October 2016. The pair could not be reached for comment when contacted by letsrecycle.com.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
