Additionally, he was fined £5,000 for contempt of court, to pay costs of up to £7,506.60 and complete 15 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days and 250 hours of unpaid work.
The man admitted he was in contempt of court for failing to comply with a court order to clear waste from an illegal site at Tame Road in Middlesbrough.
He had previously pleaded guilty on 19 November 2024 to operating a second illegal waste site at Owens Road.
The new convictions come after he failed to obey a court order to cease activity and clear the sites.
Gary Wallace, Environment Agency (EA) area environment manager for the North East, said: “We are determined to tackle waste crime that is blighting our communities and continue to take action against those involved.
“[He] has shown a complete disregard for the law in relation to both of the sites he has operated in Middlesbrough and we’re pleased this has been recognised by the court.
“Trying to bypass environmental laws for financial gain can ultimately end up being significantly more costly.”
Timeline to the waste crime
The former director of the now dissolved B8 Waste Services rented an industrial unit at Owens Road from December 2022 to October 2023.
Officers from the Cleveland Fire and Rescue Service and the EA attended the site in June 2023 after receiving reports of a large amount of waste being stored at the site.
The officers found waste which included fridges and freezers, wood, metal, mattresses and gas canisters. The items were stored in a manner which presented a fire risk.
At the time, the man confirmed that he did not hold an EA environmental permit for the site and was given notice to cease operations with immediate effect and remove all waste by 14 July 2023.
On 14 July, the EA returned to the site to assess whether waste had been removed, and while the unit was shut, they found there was an increase in waste stored outside of the unit.
In February 2024, officers found that the majority of the waste had been removed but approximately 40 fridges still remained.
At the same time, the man’s other company, B8 Waste Management, was fined and ordered to pay costs totalling almost £26,000 at Teesside Magistrates’ Court for the Tame Road site. He was ordered to remove the waste by 31 December 2023 and was disqualified from being a company director for two years.
In his court hearing last week, the man confirmed that he had now cleared the Owens Road site and had recently borrowed money to clear the Tame Road site.
