Niramax Group Limited appeared at Teesside Crown Court on Monday 15 January where it pleaded guilty to breaching its environmental permit, leading to a fly infestation at its site at Monument Park, Washington.
The company also pleaded guilty to failing to comply with an enforcement notice by not removing waste as required at its site at Tofts Farm in Hartlepool after large amounts of waste tyres created a potential fire hazard.
The prosecution follows an investigation by the Environment Agency. Niramax Group was fined total of £16,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000.
Fly infestation
The Environment Agency said that court that at the Washington site a pre-arranged audit took place on 2 April 2015 where Environment Agency officers discovered a fly infestation.
“Two of the bay doors to the waste shed were not operating satisfactorily which caused problems with pest control measures. Waste was not sufficiently divided between the four bays.
“A second visit on 9 April saw the flies still present both outside and inside the waste storage shed. Efforts had been made to empty the waste from the bays. A visit on 12 April saw the site and issues had been cleared.
“During the investigation Environment Agency officers spoke with neighbouring businesses and residents which confirmed the impact of the infestation.”
At Hartlepool, where Niramax treats waste tyres, the Environment Agency said it originally attended the site in June 2015 after receiving complaints about dust.
Action plan
The Agency said that on 28 July an Action Plan “was signed by the operator to resolve a number of permit breaches, which included a dust management plan. And the large amounts of waste tyres on site were to be stored within bays in accordance with permit conditions and fire prevention guidance.”
The court heard that in February 2016, Environment Agency officers attended the site to assess its compliance with its permit. It was noted the site was still operating as it was in June the previous year and the bays were still buried under piles of waste tyres.
An enforcement notice was served on the company to clear the site of tyres by 14 June, 2016. On 15 June the Environment Agency visited the site, and while the amount of shredded tyre waste had reduced permit breaches were still evident – waste was not contained in the bays and no fire breaks were noted, the Agency stated.
The bays were capable of storing 1490.4m3 and the contents were measured to be 2461.71m3.
The Agency said the company told the court that “they had been caught out by an unseasonably sharp rise in temperature. This meant their fly suppression methods proved inadequate. At the tyre site they suffered when a fluctuation in the market made it more difficult to remove the shredded tyres from the site. They said they had done everything in their power to comply with the enforcement notice.”
Conditions
Rachael Caldwell, Enforcement Team Leader at the Environment Agency in the north east, said: “Environmental laws exist for a reason – to protect the environment and communities – so it is vital that waste operators meet the conditions of their permits.
“In both of these cases there was a negative impact on the local areas, which is extremely unpleasant and unacceptable and not something communities should have to endure.
“We always treat operators fairly and ensure they understand the potential impact their activities can have, and work together with them to help bring sites into compliance.”
Ms Caldwell continued: “At Hartlepool we gave Niramax ample opportunity to bring their site back into compliance, and at Washington we gave them five days to act on what was a serious fly infestation.
“But they repeatedly showed little regard for the detrimental impact on their neighbours and the environment. And during our investigation they even described our actions – to protect the environment and the community – as ‘nit picking’.
“I hope this case reassures our communities that we will do everything possible to ensure operators comply with their permit, and take enforcement action when they don’t.”
It is understood that Niramax does not wish to comment on the case.
Veolia
In 2015, it was announced that Veolia was to take over commercial waste collections through Niramax’s network of 4,000 trade waste containers, collected from over 1,000 customers across the region (see letsrecycle.com story https://www.letsrecycle.com/news/latest-news/veolia-deal-announced-as-fire-hits-niramax-site/). The waste was to be processed by Niramax at the Hartlepool site.
Among its activities, Niramax is an exporter of RDF. The family-owned company provides commercial waste solutions, residual waste management, refuse derived fuel and tyre granulating and crumb production (see Niramax.co.uk).
Last month (December 2017) Niramax Group reported, via Companies House, that sales to March 2017 reflected “a challenging year for the business”. It noted the fire at the company’s plant in December 2015 with equipment still to be replaced and that there were “significant insurance claims ongoing”.
Turnover in the year to March 2016 was down by 31.9%. The company said that it maintained its long term aims of “recycling and diversion” and that “further environmental pressure on the UK market will support the company’s long-term drive towards zero-landfill”.
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