A Welsh recycling company was ordered to pay more than £114,000 after “illegally dumping” 10,000 tonnes of waste and “causing homes to flood”, according to Natural Resources Wales (NRW).
Wenvoe Recycling Ltd received the fine at a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on 13 August.
Last year, at a sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court, Wenvoe Recycling’s director Anthony Gaughan admitted to depositing waste and operating a regulated facility without an environmental permit on behalf of himself and his company, NRW says.
He was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment suspended for 24 months, NRW says, and ordered to complete 10 days of a rehabilitation activity.
Fiona Abbott, NRW’s operations manager for South Wales Central, said: “Tackling illegal activity which harms people and the environment and bringing the perpetrators to account remains one of our highest priorities.
“The actions of the company not only affected the local community but also had an economic impact on legitimate businesses, and as such we will continue to use all tools at our disposal to fight environmental crime in all its forms.”
As of 18 August, Wenvoe Recycling Ltd is listed on Companies House as having been dissolved.
Flooding
NRW says Wenvoe Recycling “dumped” thousands of tonnes of controlled waste at Tunnel Side Yard in Quarry Road, Wenvoe, in the Vale of Glamorgan, despite not having an environmental permit to do so.
Following a tip-off from a member of the public in 2017, environmental crime officers from NRW visited the site in October 2017. They say they discovered lorries depositing large amounts of mixed construction waste at the site.
Mr Gaughan was warned that what he was doing was illegal and advised to cease all operations, NRW says, but he “carried on”. On a return visit in November the officers again advised him to stop.
Two weeks later, the officers returned with police and were concerned at the amount of waste slipping down a slope at the perimeter of the yard.
By December, nearby homes flooded as waste blocked the water channel and emergency work had to be carried out, with pumps installed to divert the water. The clean-up operation cost £380,000.
Sentencing
NRW says that at last week’s sentencing heard the court heard that Mr Gaughan and the company had benefited by £609,434, but only £114,868.87 was available to be paid as compensation to Welsh Water by November 2021.
Failure to do so would result in a 12-month custodial sentence by default and the money would still be owed.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
