Fridge recycler impersonated Environment Agency officer

Dean Overton, managing director of Overton Recycling, pleaded guilty to the charge of “impersonating an Environment Agency Officer by signing a draft copy of a Waste Management Licence (WML) to make it appear properly authorised.”, in a case brought by the Agency under Section 110(3) of the Environment Act 1995.

Dean Overton, MD of Overton Recycling

Mr Overton admitted to Bicester Magistrates Court that, in December 2002, he removed the word &#39d;raft' from the front page of a sample WML and signed the document with the name of an Environment Agency officer to make it appear properly authorised.

The Court heard that in December 2002 Agency officers came into possession of a front sheet of a WML from an industry source. The licence was for a fridge recycling facility in Cradley Heath operated by Overton Recycling Ltd and signed by R I Harvey. In January 2003 a different region of the Agency came into possession of a similar document from another source signed by the same R I Harvey. The Agency was concerned because the WML for the fridge recycling facility at Cradley Heath had not been issued to Overton Recycling Ltd until 3 January 2003 and was signed by Richard Oakley.

A statement from the Environment Agency after the case was heard on Friday, June 27 2003, said that there was “no environmental impact as a result of the offence”, but said that the potential damage could have been “significant” both to the environment and the Agency's credibility. It said the “fake” licence found its way into the hands of “a number of waste management companies, which could ultimately have led to waste being sent to a site not authorised to accept it”.

Commenting on the case, Agency officer Paul Keay said: “Fortunately this type of case is unusual, but people must realise the seriousness of this offence and the damage it could do.”

Although the “fake” waste management licence was dated October 25, 2002, Overton Recycling started operating officially in January 2003. The company now recycles over 20,000 fridges every month and employs 17 local staff.