20-Apr-2006 - The Environment
Agency has recently prosecuted an Addington man
for operating an illegal waste site in Kent.
Mr Russell Dean Hayward, trading
as Town and Country Waste Management, appeared
at Maidstone Magistrates Court on Tuesday 18 April
2006. Mr Hayward pleaded guilty to illegally keeping,
treating and depositing household and mixed waste
on land at Laddingford and Addington in Kent.
The offences took places on 21 June 2005 and on
25 October 2005.
For the six offences Mr Hayward
was fined a total of £7,500 and was ordered
to pay costs of £1,000 to the Environment
Agency.
The Court heard that on 21 June
2005 Environment Agency Officers visited land
known as the Hopper Huts in Claygate Road, Laddingford,
Kent following reports that lorries were entering
the property laden with waste.
A visit by Environment Agency
Officers revealed multiple loads of mixed household
and commercial skip waste had been tipped into
a makeshift three-sided bay. The waste was tipped
directly onto the grass to a depth of four feet
in the 12 metre by 10 metre bay. A young man was
on site sorting the waste and he refused to give
the Environment Agency officers his details and
those of his employer.
In addition to the waste in
the bay, there were four skips full of mixed waste
on site. These were signwritten as "Town
and Country Waste Management" with the business
telephone number on the side of them. Also, a
larger skip was seen containing mixed metal that
had been picked from the waste.
Of the waste that had been deposited
on the property, the Environment Agency was most
concerned about car engines, spilt paint and batteries
on site. Investigations revealed that the illegal
waste site was being operated by Mr Hayward, who
trades as Town and Country Waste Management.
Mr Hayward also had a yard in
East Street North in Addington, Kent that was
visited by Environment Agency Officers on 25 October
2005. This inspection followed reports that the
site was illegally accepting and treating waste.
The visit identified a number
of skips full of waste on the ground and strong
smelling household waste being tipped from one
skip to another. On a previous occasion Mr Hayward
also accepted a formal caution regarding activities
at the site.
Under Section 33 of the Environmental
Protection Act 11000, it is an offence to keep
controlled waste on land without a licence. A
Waste Management Licence, issued and enforced
by the Environment Agency, sets conditions on
how a site should be operated to avoid pollution
of the environment and harm to human health.
Following the case Dave Eden
of the Environment Agency’s Environmental Crime
Team said: "Mr Hayward had repeated warnings
from us that his sites were operating illegally
and he had also been issued with an enforcement
notice.
"It’s essential that waste
sites operate within the law - licences enable
us to make sure that the way a site is operating
is not causing harm to the environment or human
health. We take these offences very seriously".
If you suspect a site of operating
waste activities without the benefit of a licence
from the Environment agency please contact us
on our free phone number 0800 80 70 60.
