Documentation found by the Environment Agencyshowed that the company was receiving 40p per tyre sent to Vietnam.
Andrew Revell, 50, of The Green, Hasland appeared at Derby Crown Court on Friday, January 27.
In the case brought by the Environment Agency, he admitted five charges in relation to an illegal waste operation called Revco Recycling Limited which he ran from a unit on the former GKN site in Sheepsbridge, Chesterfield. Mr Revell was sentenced to a 12 month prison sentence suspended for two years on each of the five charges, ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay full court costs of 9,578.75.
Barrister Ben Lawrence, acting on behalf of the Environment Agency, said officers first visited Revco Recycling Ltd in October 2009. He said they saw up to 4,000 tyres stored on the Sheepsbridge site which was not covered by the necessary Environmental Permit.
The court heard how staff repeatedly visited the site and advised Mr Revell and his wife on the permitting regulations and told them to take immediate steps to reduce the amount of waste. In May 2010, staff searched the site office and found documents which showed that around 15,600 tyres were received by the company between November 16 and December 11, 2009. They also found evidence that Mr Revell had supplied a further 1,283 tyres to a company called KA Tyres.
Exemption agreement
The court heard that Agency officers estimated that there were around 25,000 tyres on the site, and following the visit Mr Revell had told staff that he had stopped collecting and baling waste tyres. Mr Lawrence said that Mr Revell had maintained that he was allowed to store the remaining tyres under an existing exemption agreement.
The barrister went on to tell the court that in July staff then learned that Revco Recycling Limited was also using another unit on the Sheepsbridge site which hadnt been disclosed to them. A search of the property revealed around 400 bales of tyres inside, 260 bales outside and a further 160 loose tyres. The court heard this brought the total of tyres amassed by Revell and his company to around 65,700 along with some cement bonded asbestos boards.
The Environment Agency team arrested Andrew Revell in June 2010 and among the documentation found on the site were shipping notes for waste tyres from Ireland, and to export to Vietnam. Mr Lawrence told magistrates that exporting waste tyres to Vietnam was illegal however documentation showed the company was being paid around 40p per tyre and it could export tyres at 3000 per load – at an approximate profit of 990 per container.
Mitigation
In mitigation, the court heard that Revell had cleared the site himself, costing over 30,000. The profits the Environment Agency claim were made, were actually substantially less when running costs were taken into account. Revell was running the business to support his family and no other reason and that he had pleaded guilty and had no previous convictions.
After the case, Environment Agency officer Lindsay Jones said: Revell not only showed blatant disregard for our own environmental laws but also European law which governs the wellbeing of people in another country. This court case shows that people who seek to maximise their profits at the expense of the environment can expect to be tracked down and placed before the courts.
(Picture: Pixomar)
Subscribe for free