SWS Limited, based at the Longhill Industrial Estate, pleaded not guilty to burning waste in contravention of its waste management licence conditions under sections 33(I)(b)(i) and 33(6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
The waste management company, which also runs packaging waste compliance scheme SWS Compak, was fined 2,500 and ordered to pay 7,500 costs to the Environment Agency by Hartlepool magistrates.
The court heard that two agency officers noticed a fire at the Thomlinson road site in August 2002 and went to investigate. At the site, they discovered the fire burning in a purpose-built shed.
The metal shed housed a pit lined with heat-resistant bricks. The temperature of the fire was boosted by a specially constructed fan, which sucked air through the fire. The heat was so intense that Environmental Agency officers could only take photographs for evidence from a distance.
When the officers returned to the site the following day to continue the pit contained glowing embers. Nearby piles of wood up to 30 feet high were waiting to be disposed of by burning. In its defence, SWS claimed that the material they were burning was not waste.
Deliberate
After the case a special enforcement officer with the Agency said: “This is a clear case of a waste company trying to avoid the cost of legitimate waste disposal by burning the waste they created. It was a deliberate and contrived method of illegal waste disposal that had taken no little amount of time and effort to devise and construct.
“This case is also disappointing as it involves a company that is heavily involved in the recycling and disposal of waste and one that ought to know better.
“By bringing this case we hope that we are reinforcing the message that illegal waste disposal is not acceptable and companies who seek to save money by cutting corners in this way will be pursued through the courts.”
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