Trio sentenced for ‘£900,000 damage’ at waste site
Three men have been sentenced after “illegally depositing waste” at an industrial unit in Wrexham which resulted in more than £900,000 of damage.
According to a statement from Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Anthony Gordon Park, from Carmarthen, was sentenced at Caernarfon Magistrates Court on 26 April, for “operating a regulated facility otherwise than in accordance with an environmental permit”.
Park received a 14-month custodial sentence to be suspended for 18 months.
Co-defendants, Gavin Taylor, from Sheffield, and Karl Jones, from Rotherham, were also sentenced for the same offence. Taylor received a 14-month custody to be suspended for 18 months, whilst Jones received a 12-month community order with 68 hours unpaid work.
A company, FCM Commercial Services Limited, was also punished for knowingly transporting waste and depositing it at the industrial unit, NRW said. The regulator added that the company was ordered to pay fines and costs amounting to £6,500.
Following an initial inspection in May 2017, NRW officers found the unit building to be over three-quarters full with waste bales. The bales had been stacked high to get as many as possible into the building.
Once inside the unit the officers could feel the heat being generated by the bales of waste, whilst there was a strong odour and a large number of flies present.
In addition, extensive damage had been caused to the building, later found to be worth an estimated £934,589.51. Further financial investigations are ongoing under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
David Powell, NRW operations manager for North East Wales, remarked: “This successful prosecution shows that NRW is serious in its aim to clamp down on illegal waste offences across Wales.”
Renewi repeats call for policy clarity
Renewi has again called on the government to provide clarity over its waste policy reforms.
Renewi is a big player in Benelux region and has said it would like to bring its recycling expertise to the UK, where it currently operates six Private Finance Initiative contracts for local councils.
However, the company says it has been held back by the constant delays to waste reforms such as consistent collections.
James Priestley, managing director of Renewi UK, said: “ The UK produces too much waste – 15.3 tonnes per person each year – but we don’t recycle enough of it. Of all the materials that flow through the UK’s economy, just 7.5% are reused.
“That is a circularity gap of more than 92%. This disparity is partly explained by a lack of domestic recycling infrastructure, and is a sustainability challenge the country must overcome. The recycling industry has the potential to be an important part of the solution, but that must be supported by new legislation and a clear mandate.”
Aldi claims UK first with recyclable handwash packaging
Aldi has claimed to be the first major UK retailer to offer fully recyclable own-label handwash packaging in a bid to reduce packaging waste.
The UK’s fourth-largest supermarket has removed the glass and metal components from the pumps, making its handwash packaging fully recyclable at home.
The move will allow over 200 tonnes of packaging material a year to be more easily recycled, the company said.
Luke Emery, plastics and packaging director at Aldi, stated: “Reducing waste is incredibly important to us and our customers, and we will not stop looking for ways to improve our packaging to ensure shoppers know they are making more environmentally friendly choices when buying their everyday products.”
Exeter MRF staff wear 100% recycled high-vis jackets
Staff at Exeter city council’s material recycling facility (MRF) are now wearing 100% recycled high-visibility uniforms.
According to the council, the PPE clothing range is produced by Envriowear from post-consumer plastic bottles and is also 100% recyclable, “an industry first for high-visibility clothing”.
Matt Hulland, resource recovery manager for Exeter city council, said: “We are proud to be providing Envirowear to our workforce.
“Every Envirowear garment is made from 100% recycled material. More importantly, it has been designed to be fully recycled through a mechanical process that produces commercial-grade recycled polyethylene for use in spinning polyester fabric yarn and for injection moulding into plastic garment trims.”
At the end of each garment’s wearable life it will be returned to Project:Reclaim, the recycling platform jointly run by Project Plan B and SATCOL (The Salvation Army Trading Co).
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