Two companies have been fined a total of 26,000 following an Environment Agency investigation into the illegal handling, storage and export of hazardous waste.
Chemson Ltd, of Northumberland Dock Road, Wallsend, near Newcastle, and the Empress Green Trading Company Ltd, of Woods Lane, Oldham, were sentenced yesterday (October 8) at Bradford Crown Court, along with Joanna Potts, 46, an officer of Empress Green Trading.
The activities were discovered by the Agency following complaints of dead fish in a pond fed by the River Ryburn, at Triangle near Halifax, in September 2009. This was traced back to a discharge of foam from a site in Triangle, where hazardous waste was found being stored without proper environmental permits in place.
An investigation by the Agency resulted in the Triangle sites operators being sentenced by the court on September 26 for illegal waste activities, while yesterday, the court dealt with those involved in the trade that saw hazardous waste deposited at the site.
According to the Agency, waste found at the site in 2009 included bags labelled toxic, harmful to the aquatic environment and soluble lead compound. This was found to be hazardous granular waste that originated from Chemson Ltd a company that produces PVC additives for various industries.
Investigation
The court heard that over a six-month period between March and August 2009, Chemson delivered approximately 182 tonnes of their lead-contaminated PVC waste to the Triangle site. The company had been paying 400 per tonne to landfill the waste, but the deal with Crystal saw them paying just 50 per tonne.
Companies who are involved in the trading of hazardous waste cannot operate without the appropriate legal permits being in place.
Gail Gray, Environment Agency
Some of the waste was due to be shipped to Pakistan, although such an export is prohibited because of the nature of the material. Chemson had arranged for its waste to be sent to Crystal Recycling in a deal brokered by The Empress Green Trading Company Ltd, based in Oldham, through one if its directors, Joanna Potts.
Chemson, which admitted one charge of depositing controlled waste without a permit, was fined 18,000 and ordered to pay 15,000 in legal costs.
The Empress Green Trading Company Ltd, which admitted one charge of depositing controlled waste without a permit and one charge of exporting prohibited waste, was fined 8,000 with 7,000 costs.
Joanna Potts, who admitted one charge of depositing controlled waste without a permit and one charge of exporting prohibited waste, was handed a conditional discharge for her offences, and ordered to pay 2,500 in costs.
In mitigation, Chemson told the court that it had sent the waste to the Triangle site in an effort to prevent the material from going to a landfill site.
Joanna Potts, for the Empress Green Trading Company, told the court that she did not know that the material was waste and therefore that permits needed to be in place.
Permits
Gail Gray, Environment Officer at the Environment Agency, said: Companies who are involved in the trading of hazardous waste cannot operate without the appropriate legal permits being in place. Todays sentencing demonstrates that illegal activities will not be tolerated and that ignorance of the rules is not a justifiable excuse.
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The waste that was illegally sent to the Triangle site posed significant risks to the environment and human health. Without proper regulation, operations of this nature cannot be effectively monitored or controlled thats why legal compliance is so important.
Businesses which flout the rules also have a detrimental effect on legitimate businesses by avoiding fees and infrastructure costs that protect the environment.
When contacted by letsrecycle.com, Chemson could not be reached for comment.
A further two firms, Claude Hellowell Ltd and PackCare Ltd were sentenced in relation to the investigations at Triangle on September 26 alongside four individuals.
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