Portsmouth waste tyre boss fined for offences

Brian Wade, director of Southern Rubber Products Ltd on Claybank Road pleaded guilty to illegally storing more than 780 tonnes of waste tyres at the site, during a hearing at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on Monday (May 12).

In addition, Mr Wade was issued with an electronic tag and curfew order to remain indoors between 7pm and 6am and an 80 victim surcharge.

Exemptions exist to allow certain waste activities to take place without the need for a permit, but operators must meet strict criteria in order to be eligible for them.

Southern Rubber Products had a number of waste tyre exemptions in place for the site, but none covered the vast amount of tyres found in illegal storage during an Environment Agency inspection of the site in August 2013.

Environment Agency officers who conducted the inspection found the site had been vacated by the company and the tyres left behind leaving the landlord with the 24,959 cost of removing them from the land.

When interviewed by the Environment Agency, Mr Wade admitted that he was responsible for depositing the tyres on site, explaining there were issues in getting rid of the tyres, that the landlord wanted him off the premises and that he had health problems.

Deliberate

But the Magistrates presiding over the case said they had reached their sentence based on a number of aggravating factors, including the offences being a deliberate act over a long period of time.

Speaking after the case, Kirsty Mayo of the Environment Agency, said: It is very disappointing that Mr Wade continued to deliberately operate an illegal site despite having an understanding of his responsibilities. He was registered with us for some exemptions, so he had little excuse in claiming he was unaware his waste obligations.

The net is closing in on people who think they can make easy money undercutting legitimate waste businesses by putting the local environment at risk. We are constantly gathering information on illegal waste sites, criminal activities and environmental crime in Hampshire and across the south east.

We are taking a zero tolerance approach against offenders. In cases like this where individuals consistently operate illegally, we have absolutely no hesitation in prosecuting them as we want to make sure that waste crime doesnt pay.

When contacted by letsrecycle.com, Mr Wade could not be reached for comment.