The Environment Agency, which brought the case, said that rather than helping to preserve environmental resources, Magpie was actually at risk of polluting them.
The community recycler – set up as a recycling cooperative – was referred to as a company in the court case. The court heard that activity by the company could have led to groundwater contamination and that Magpie had ignored repeated warnings. The case was heard on February 6 2003.
Escaping
Magistrates heard the company, which is based at Hollingdean Lorry Park, Brighton, plead guilty to failing to operating its site under the terms of an exemption from waste management licensing and to failing to take reasonable measures to prevent waste escaping from the premises.
The exemption allows for the storage and secure holding of specific types of waste including: paper, cardboard, textiles, plastics, glass, steel cans and aluminium cans. Maximum quantities of each material are stated and the different types of waste must be stored separately.
Environment Agency officers had visited Magpie on many occasions in recent years and had found that the company was not operating in line with the exemption held. The Agency had written a series of warning letters to the company, but it still failed to improve storage arrangements at the site.
The court heard that on May 28 last year the Agency acted on a complaint about the condition of Hollingdean Lorry Park. An officer found that the site was “very untidy with a mixture of plastic bottles, cardboard and glass all over the floor. None of the containers for the materials was correctly sheeted.”
Overflowing
The court heard that bins were overflowing with cardboard and there was a large puddle containing plastic bags and other debris. The officer also discovered that, due to heavy rain, cardboard around the base of storage containers had become a pulpy sludge and had an unpleasant odour.
There was a considerable quantity of plastic material beneath one of the skips on the site, said the Environment Agency. “It was clear that vehicles had been driving over this area as plastic bottles had been flattened and were covered in mud. The officer also saw a container, which was full of non-recyclable material, including toys and household waste, which had an unpleasant smell of rot. Magpie was not permitted to store these materials under the terms of the exemption held.
The condition of the site also raised concerns about the possibility of pollution to groundwater since it lies within a protection zone for the Lewes Road water supply abstraction borehole, which is approximately 400 metres away.
In mitigation the company admitted that its management of the site had been haphazard in the past and apologised for the offences. As a result of the Agency's investigation a number of improvements to the site were either in place or being considered. The company highlighted the value of its recycling activity to Brighton and Hove; explaining that it had experienced difficulties with lack of funds, securing permissions to improve fencing, and arrangements for collection of waste from the site.
Poor management
On the first charge, of depositing controlled waste on land without the benefit of a Waste Management Licence, the Magistrate said that this had been due to Magpie’s poor management and imposed a 2,000 fine. The magistrates considered this the “the highest penalty they could impose given the companies financial situation”, according to the Agency.
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