Court issues 20,000 penalty for illegal landfill

On Tuesday (January 27) Terry Jacobs of Redditch and Colin Parsons of Kidderminster pleaded guilty at Redditch Magistrates Court to one charge each relating to the illegal burial of waste in Upton Warren.

Mr Parsons, aged 69, was fined 4,000, and ordered to pay 6,000 in costs, along with a 15 victim surcharge, for operating a waste facility without an environmental permit.

Landowner Mr Jacobs, aged 44, was fined 4,000, and ordered to pay 6,000 in costs, along with a 15 victim surcharge for knowingly permitting the operation of a regulated facility without an environmental permit.

The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under Regulation 38 (1) and regulation 12 (1) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.

Environment Agency officers began investigating the site following a call from the public regarding a landfill operation that was allegedly operated by Colin Parsons and Sons Limited, in July 2011. The site which lies in a rural area, surrounded by agricultural land and buildings, held no authorisations for waste management activities.

Burial

Mr Jacobs owned the land and had received payment to allow the burial of waste at the site between 1 July and 2 October 2011. During this period, Mr Parsons hired excavating equipment and a wagon to transport waste to the field.

During a visit to the site in August 2011, Environment Agency officers discovered a large disturbed area of ground with black plastic bags and plastic protruding out of the soil. Plant machinery on site was traced back to Colin Parsons.

On a further visit to the site, officers noticed that the excavated area appeared to have been covered over and seeded. The area of land which had been filled was estimated to be in the region of 52×52 metres.

On 20 October 2011, Environment Officers, accompanied by West Mercia Police, investigated the site. Three trenches were dug, uncovering a mix of plastic, fabric, metal, glass, rubber and window frames.

Removal

In November 2012 a notice was served upon Mr Jacobs ordering the removal of all waste to be removed from the site by February 15 the following year. This notice was not complied with and the judge found this to be a particular aggravating feature of the case.

Speaking after the case, an Environment Agency officer in charge of the investigation said: The defendants have been uncooperative throughout the investigation. By burying or allowing the burying of waste, they are risking damage to the environment and undercutting legitimate businesses for their own financial gain.

This prosecution demonstrates that we take waste crime very seriously and will not hesitate to prosecute if necessary, to protect the environment and local communities.

Neither Mr Jacobs nor Mr Parsons could be reached for comment following when contacted by letsrecycle.com.