The sole director of Arrow Gypsum Recycling has been sentenced for two charges relating to waste on a site in Norton, Worcestershire.
The Environment Agency claimed that Mr Smyth had abandoned 29 tonnes of gypsum plasterboard outside the building he rented in Norton, Worcester, in addition to the 5,000 tonnes of waste inside the building.
Mark Smyth, aged 40, from Pershore, Worcestershire was sentenced on 16 August to 12 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months, with 200 hours unpaid work following a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency at Worcester Crown Court.
He was also ordered to pay £10,000 compensation to the landowner and disqualified from acting as a company director for 7 years.
Mr Smyth, pleaded guilty to breaching the company’s condition of its environmental permit and was found guilty of failing to comply with an enforcement notice served by the Environment Agency.
He had received an enforcement notice in 2015 to clear the 29 tonnes of gypsum plasterboard he had abandoned outside the building he rented at Crucible Business Park in Norton, Worcester, in addition to the 5,000 tonnes of waste inside the building.
Permit
This followed a report, received by the agency earlier in the year that waste was being stored outside the building, breaching Mr Smyth’s permit which specified that the material be stored inside.
Worcester Crown Court was told that the businessman had not received the enforcement notice, but this was rejected.
It cost £450,000 for the EA and an agent of the landowner to clear the site – which the judge claimed was a serious aggravating feature of the case.
The court also heard that Mr Smyth intended to operate the business in line with the permit when he took over the business in 2013, but when the processing of the waste stopped, he had contracts that had to be honoured and carried on accepting the waste.
An Environment Agency officer in charge of the investigation said: “Waste crime is a serious offence with tough penalties as it can damage the environment, blight local communities and undermine those who operate legally. This case sends out a clear message that we will not hesitate to take action against anyone that fails to comply.”
The company closed earlier this year.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
