10-Aug-2006
- On 9th August 2006 MEC Recycling Limited pleaded
guilty at Lincoln Crown Court to three offences
of depositing waste on land without a Waste Management
Licence.
The charges were brought by
the Environment Agency under Section 33 of the
Environmental Protection Act 11000. The company
was fined £4,000 for one offence and given
a two year conditional discharge for the remaining
two offences. In addition the company was ordered
to pay costs of £8,000.
For the Environment Agency,
Martin Diggins told the court that the farm where
MEC Recycling Limited is based at - Ansons Farm,
Swinderby, Lincoln, was originally a pig and arable
farm. At the time the offences were committed,
the company had diversified and was importing
waste to produce compost that was then spread
on fields at their farm. They also imported liquid
food waste and other biodegradable wastes that
were mixed and put on their fields.
Under the Waste Management Licensing
Regulations 1994, the company had registered two
exemptions from the requirement for a waste management
licence which allowed them to compost bio-degradable
waste and spread waste on their own agricultural
land. The Environment Agency regulates these activities,
by visiting the farms and sending letters with
advice and guidance when required.
The Environment Agency received
a number of complaints from local residents concerning
odours and visual pollution resulting from the
land spreading of waste at Ansons Farm near Swinderby
prior to the date when the offences occurred.
On 21 October 2004, an Environment
Agency officer attended the farm following an
odour complaint from a member of the public. The
officer saw that black liquid was being pumped
from a pit on Ansons Farm and sprayed on a field
at the neighbouring farm, Park Farm. The Environment
Agency officers launched an investigation to find
out what was happening. They found that the pit
contained contaminated water and this was being
spread on Park Farm. The spraying of controlled
waste on Park Farm was not permitted by the exemption.
The second incident occurred
on 14 January 2005. An Environment Agency officer
saw waste Astroturf and building waste dumped
on the land at Ansons Farm. The deposit of these
types of waste was not permitted by the exemption.
Speaking after the case, Rachel
Martin, an Environment Agency officer involved
in the investigation said: ‘This case highlights
the hefty fines and punishments companies can
receive if they persistently choose to ignore
advice and guidance from the Environment Agency.’
‘We will not hesitate to launch
investigations into offenders of waste crime.
By breaching the regulations set out by the Environment
Agency, MEC Recycling Limited caused discomfort
to local residents and an unacceptable threat
to the environment. We are also grateful for the
vigilance of a member of the public whose complaint
brought this issue to our attention.’
Addressing the court on behalf
of the company, Rupert Mayo in mitigation stated
that the actions taken by the company were not
for economic gain. He stated that the effluent
being spread was predominantly pig slurry which
they accepted was contaminated with controlled
wastes that had been received by the farm. This
was the first occasion that the waste had been
spread. The Astroturf and builders rubble had
been accepted for recycling.
