A guy who transported waste dirt unlawfully was penalized, and the transport firm from which he rented trucks to convey it was also smacked with severe fines.
The transportation and dumping of waste soil without the necessary permissions led to Sam Dowell, 30, receiving a £1,840 fine at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court last year.
Dowell, who entered a guilty plea at a previous hearing, was also required to pay a £2,000 fine.
In addition, he was required to pay £1,900 in fees and a third of the cost of cleaning up the illegally placed soil.
The only director of the haulage company PJC Sweepers Ltd., Patrick Coleman, 75, of Galsworthy Road, Barnet, North London, is responsible for renting the trucks to Dowell.
On June 1, 2022, Coleman was found not guilty of transferring garbage without a permit at Cambridgeshire Crown Court.
However, his business was hit with a £6,000 fine, £10,000 in fees, and an additional £4,000 in damages for the rehabilitation of the site.
On July 4, 2022, he was also had to pay a £170 victim surcharge at the same court.
Dowell had been hired to assist in clearing a plot of land in Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, in order to lay the foundation for a home development.
While he located a location for the waste dirt to be dumped close to the Royston Sewage Treatment Works in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, his personnel worked on the project.
To transfer it, Dowell rented vehicles from PJC Sweepers Ltd.
However, AWG Land Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of the Anglian Water Group, is the owner of this location.
Anglian Water Services Ltd., which is a part of the Anglian Water Group, lacked an environmental licence to accept garbage.
Coleman’s haulage business ought to have performed duty of care checks to make sure the waste soil was being transported to a waste facility that had the necessary permits.
Judge Cooper’s Honor noted:
The drivers continued until the police were called in spite of being asked by a landowner’s agent to tell that the deposits were not authorized.
Around 30 lorry loads worth of deposits had already been made by that point.
He continued, labeling PJC Sweepers Ltd’s behavior as “totally reckless,”
Anyone who prioritizes business interests over environmental protection needs to be aware that they could receive a harsh punishment.
A firm cannot transfer its duty of care to another. It is the responsibility of each waste holder in the chain to determine how and where the garbage will be disposed of.
the company’s workers’ failure to do these checks, which would have shown that the receiving site was not an authorized location.
This meant that any waste soil dumps made on or before January 14th, 2019 were prohibited.
An environmental permit is essential to protect the environment, minimize annoyance to nearby residents, and safeguard landowners from unauthorized dumping.
Additionally, it makes sure the appropriate taxes are paid. Due to the harm that these types of unlawful deposits do to nearby communities and the legitimate waste management business, the defendants were brought to justice.
Manager of the Environment Agency Simon Hawkins stated:
Duty of care audits must be completed by all garbage companies. Companies may possibly endanger our natural resources and devastate communities by failing to uphold their duty of care.
Additionally, it discredits law-abiding, respectable enterprises, giving the offender an unfair commercial advantage over them.
We won’t hold back in taking legal action against anyone who endanger the environment because it is our responsibility to safeguard it for both people and wildlife.
Our message to companies breaking the law is clear: you won’t get away with it.
Remember to phone our 24-hour hotline at 0800 80 70 60 if you have any suspicions about illegal trash activity, or call Crimestoppers anonymously at 0800 555 111.