European Metal Recycling Ltd (EMR) has been fined £400,000 for illegally disposing of waste at Stowey Quarry, Somerset the Environment Agency has stated.
The operator of the site was given a prison sentence in April
The Agency said yesterday (6 July) that EMR, and another firm called UK Environmental Ltd, had both pleaded guilty to using Stowey Quarry as a cheap way to dispose of unpermitted waste. Sentencing in the case was at Bristol Crown Court earlier this month.
An investigation carried out by the Environment Agency revealed 2001 tonnes of metal, foam and plastic shreds from end-of-life vehicles were sent from Tilbury Docks in London to the former limestone quarry near Chew Valley Reservoir under the guise of non-hazardous “mechanically treated soil substitute”.
It then found that Amar Seth, the director of UK Environmental, brokered a deal with EMR to send waste from shredded cars cheaply to Stowey Quarry to save an estimated £32,000 in disposal costs.
According to the Environment Agency, Stowey Quarry was not allowed to receive such waste.
EMR
In a statement given to letsrecycle.com yesterday EMR said that it did not commit the offences deliberately. And, the metal recycler also noted that in the court proceedings, it was identified that had “appropriate regulatory steps been taken” the site should have been closed in 2015.
Plastic, metal, foam and other materials were illegally deposited at the site
It added that had this happened, no offences would have been committed by EMR.
The statement said: “EMR has pleaded guilty to charges alleging a failure to fulfil its duty of care in sending 1,962 tonnes of shredder waste to a landfill site known as Stowey Quarry in 2016. At the time EMR believed that this site was permitted to receive this material, when in fact it was not.
“EMR has a strong compliance history and works closely with the Environment Agency on improving standards in the industry. Each year EMR lawfully disposes of some 300,000 tonnes of shredder waste to landfill at a cost of approximately £30 million each year. In this case we acknowledge that our due diligence processes ought to have identified that this site was not permitted to receive the waste we deposited there. This has resulted in a fine for the company.”
EMR added that Environment Agency records indicate that it was responsible for only 2% of the waste delivered to the site in 2016. It added that it has now “comprehensively” reviewed and strengthened all policies procedures and controls relating to the disposal of waste.
Sentencing
The case follows the sentencing of businessman Mark Foley, from Cardiff, who was operating the site illegally in the first nine months of 2016.
Mr Foley was sentenced to 2 years and 3 months in prison in April, for disposing of a total of 100,000 tonnes of waste at the quarry, and was also fined £72,000 (see letsrecycle.com story).
EMR was fined £400,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £350,000. It further agreed a confiscation figure of £32,000.
UK Environmental Ltd was fined £28,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £83,000, and a confiscation figure £7,000.
Rebecca Kirk of the Environment Agency said: “This is the conclusion of one of the biggest criminal investigations we have conducted in the South West. It has taken many years and forensic analysis of criminal behaviour at many levels in the supply chain.
“Sadly, the sentences cannot undo the environmental harm that has been done and the distress to the community, but they will serve as a deterrent to anyone who thinks waste crime is a soft option that doesn’t carry consequences.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Metal
