A
businessman who disposed of school computers
in North Yorkshire without a licence has
been ordered to carry out 100 hours’ unpaid
work for the community.
A businessman who disposed
of school computers in North Yorkshire without
a licence has been ordered to carry out
100 hours’ unpaid work for the community.
Michael Higgins, 37,
of The Green Crescent, Slingsby, near Malton,
today pleaded guilty at Scarborough Magistrates’
Court to one controlled waste offence. He
was also sentenced to 12 months’ probation
and ordered to pay £500 costs.
Businesses or individuals
must have a licence from the Environment
Agency to handle, transport and dispose
of hazardous waste. IT equipment is classed
as hazardous because of the nature of some
of its components.
Hazardous waste regulations
are intended to allow monitoring and control
of hazardous waste streams to ensure safe
and environmentally-sound transport and
disposal. Depositing, keeping or treating
controlled waste also requires an appropriate
permit, known as a waste management licence,
from the Environment Agency.
In December 2007, an
Environment Agency officer was carrying
out a routine check on the disposal of IT
equipment by schools in North Yorkshire.
His attention was drawn
to the activities of an unincorporated business
called MJK IT Recycling, a trading name
used by Higgins under which he had registered
with the Environment Agency as a hazardous
waste producer. However, this registration
had expired in October 2006.
The address given was
Dove Way, Kirbymills Industrial Estate,
Kirkbymoorside, and the website displayed
the Environment Agency logo and offered
recycling of unwanted IT equipment, as well
as sales of reconditioned hardware and a
computer rental service.
As MJK, Higgins not
only issued estimates and invoices but also
supplied certificates of recycling to the
schools. Non of the activities were licensed.
Higgins was advised
about his licensing obligations and the
use of the Environment Agency’s logo but
failed to attend a meeting.
In February this year
the environment officer returned to his
premises, where he found an overfull skip
containing general controlled waste and
IT waste, including cathode ray monitors
and printers, while other controlled waste
was visible on land surrounding the unit.
When the environment
officer returned to the unit later that
month with licence application forms for
Higgins, controlled waste still was visible
outside the premises.
Paul Harley, for the
Environment Agency, said an aggravating
feature of the case was that computer-related
waste is more dangerous to the environment
and human health than inert waste and should
be disposed of properly.
Mr Harley told the court
Higgins did not co-operate with the Environment
Agency investigation and failed to respond
to advice or warnings. He said the offending
was deliberate and by not paying the appropriate
fees, Higgins was able to obtain a commercial
advantage over licensed competitors.
In mitigation, the court
gave credit for Higgins’s early guilty plea.
He said he had made no money and the venture
had left him in debt.
Notes
Michael Higgins was
charged with an offence that he did between
20 December 2007 and 28 February 2008 keep
controlled waste including computers, computer
keyboards, computer monitors, computer components,
cardboard and other assorted wastes on land
at Unit D, Plot 6, Dove Way, Kirbymoorside,
and that land did not have the benefit of
a waste management licence authorising the
said keeping.
Contrary to Section 33(1)(b) and 33(6) of
the Environmental Protection Act 11000
+ More
Urban Rivers flow full
of life thanks to Environment Agency
Nearly 4,000 juvenile
fish have been released by Environment Agency
fisheries teams in and around London rivers
today Tuesday 9 December.
The Hogsmill at the
Open space on the river Hogsmill, Beverley
Brook at Richmond Park and the River Wandle
near Ravensbury Park are now the new homes
for the young fish thanks to a yearly stocking
programme by the Environment Agency.
The batches of two year-old
barbel, chub, roach and dace have been specially
reared and trained for life in the wild
at the Environment Agency’s Calverton Fish
Farm in Nottinghamshire and were released
into three different locations.
Environment Agency fisheries
officers released Chub, Roach and Dace into
the Hogsmill near West Ewell and the Beverley
Brook at Richmond Park. Both are urban rivers
and since they have begun to recover from
historic pollution and degradation they
have been stocked regularly by the Environment
Agency. The rivers are still vulnerable
from low water levels and at risk of pollution
by mis-connections of domestic appliances
and industrial accidents. However, these
rivers offer valuable wildlife habitat and
recreational space in a predominantly urban
area.
The Wandle was stocked
with Barbel, Chub, Roach and Dace at Hackbridge,
Poulters Park, Ravensbury Park and Morden
Hall. These areas were affected by a major
pollution event in September 2007. The Environment
Agency has been working closely with local
and national angler groups, landowners and
regulators to find opportunities to further
improve habitat along the river and provide
shelter for smaller fish in high flows and
help protect them from predators and pollution
events. Previous stocking has shown that
fish thrive in the River Wandle because
it is so productive.
Environment Agency fisheries
officer Tanya Houston said: “The release
of 4,000 fish into these rivers will really
enhance the local environment. Healthy rivers
have good fish populations which form a
key element of the aquatic environment and
our restocking programme ensures that a
wide variety of fish can flourish and give
local people the opportunity to enjoy the
river within an urban area”.
The Environment Agency
carry out more than 500 fish stockings transfers
every year. Stocking of fish can bring socio-economic
and conservation benefits to fisheries by
increasing the numbers and species of fish
available for capture, or by restoring stocks
lost due to pollution or habitat degradation.
New rules for farmers
to prevent nitrate pollution
Many farmers and land managers in Lincolnshire
are missing the chance to be better prepared
for new Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations,
with the 14 January free seminar at Market
Rasen Racecourse barely half full.
Many farmers and land
managers in Lincolnshire are missing the
chance to be better prepared for new Nitrate
Pollution Prevention Regulations, with the
14 January free seminar at Market Rasen
Racecourse barely half full.
Around 60% of the nitrate
pollution found in rivers, lakes and groundwaters
is caused by agriculture; and the new regulations,
which come into force on 1 January 2009,
are a vital measure in protecting and sustaining
the quality of our water supplies.
Environment Agency,
Head of Land Quality, Aileen Kirmond, said:
“The majority of nitrate that’s found in
our waterways comes from fertilisers, including
animal slurry.
“Fertiliser is an important
addition to soils to ensure strong growth
of grasslands and crops, but if you spread
too much or at the wrong time, the nitrates
can be lost into rivers, lakes and groundwater.
"High levels of
nitrates can cause problems for our aquatic
plants and animals from the smallest stream
right down to our marine environment.
“Nitrates can also be
an expensive substance for water companies
to remove from drinking supplies during
treatment.
“The problem is now
so wide spread that almost 70% of land in
England now falls into a Nitrate Vulnerable
Zone (NVZ), and under the new regulations
farmers in these at-risk areas must ensure
they do not spread excess nitrates onto
their land.”
NVZs are those areas
that drain into waters that are polluted,
or are likely to become polluted without
action.
These free seminars,
run for the Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment
Agency, will cover:
• Background to the new NVZ rules
• Planning nitrate use and the nitrogen
requirement limits of different crops
• Storage of livestock manures
• Field application of both organic manures
and manufactured fertilisers
• How compliance with the new NVZ rules
will be checked
• Support, advice, and a question &
answer session.
During October, farmers
with land located in a NVZ should have received
a letter detailing how the new rules will
affect them, and an invitation to a free
seminar in their area. Farmers who are already
following an NVZ Action Programme will find
the seminar helpful as the new rules have
important changes.
To book a place call the NVZ Helpline on
0845 345 1302. Copies of the NVZ Guidance
Leaflets will be available at the event.
In addition to these
seminars, farmers and land managers within
NVZs can access advice and support aimed
at helping meet the new regulations. These
include:
A confidential and independent
NVZ Technical Helpline is available that
answers queries from farmers and advisers.
The telephone number is 0845 345 1302 (Monday
– Friday, 7am – 7pm until 31 March 2009).
Calls will be charged at the local rate.
NVZ guidance leaflets
covering different aspects of the new rules
are available on the Defra website at: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/water/quality/nitrate
. Printed copies will be available at seminars.
Computer software tools
that have been developed to provide extra
help with some of the calculations required
under the new rules. These are available
free of charge by visiting www.planet4farmers.co.uk
or telephoning 08456 023864.
+ More
Environment Agency steps
in to help family beat flooding
The Environment Agency
has helped a family in Bampton get their
life back to normal by fixing an access
point to a brook near their home which allowed
water to gush in and flood their property.
The Dowley family are
no strangers to flooding, their house in
Bampton sits low in the land that surrounds
it and has flooded from the Shill Brook
four times in the last 18 months. On one
occasion the son, who suffers from a serious
immune system problem and requires constant
medical attention, had to be evacuated by
a medical team.
Environment Agency staff
were alerted to the problem when the family
rang up and expressed their concerns about
a low lying point in bank where flood water
runs through a garden and into their property.
Sophie Robinson, Asset Systems Management
Officer for the Environment Agency said:
“I met the family soon
after they contacted the Environment Agency
and although a survey of the bank did not
show an obvious low spot, there is a little
access point to the brook, which is about
three feet wide and lets the water in. The
family wanted to see the gap filled in but
couldn’t do it themselves as the land doesn’t
belong to them. The riparian owner* is very
elderly and did not have the resources to
do it, so we offered assistance as one of
our maintenance teams were nearby completing
a section of channel clearance.”
The Environment Agency
engage closely with riparian owners and
residents who are at high risk of flooding
to ensure that everything that can be done
to prevent or reduce flooding is achieved.
Local rivers and streams receive routine
maintenance to reduce flood risk to surrounding
areas and the Operation Delivery teams are
always on hand to clear debris away from
a river’s path.
Sophie Robinson added:
“The Shill Brook had recently been de-silted
to enable it to flow with increased capacity
and reduce the flood risk to the properties
of Bampton Oxon. Unfortunately we are unable
to prevent all flood incidents but we can
help to minimise its affects on people.
Issues like these are the responsibility
of the riparian owner, but we are really
pleased to be able to help in this instance”
Mrs Dowley said: “It’s
a brilliant starting point to improving
our flood protection. We are still rebuilding
our home following the recent flood events
and are increasing our resilience by raising
the electrics, raising the ground floor
level and installing flood guards to external
doors. This work will definitely give us
more peace of mind, especially considering
our son who requires 24 hour care and could
have serious health problems if flood water
or silt enters the house.”
