In a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency, the company’s director, Wilfred Sumner, was also ordered to pay a further £10,000.
The court found that the waste was intended to be incinerated as fuel, “with no intention of recycling”.
The convictions were for the illegal export of waste as well as disregard for proper management protocols, as a total of 247 tonnes of refuse were illegally exported to Poland “under the guise of the green list process”.
The illegal export, which was claimed to be clean plastics sorted from household waste, in fact contained a majority of plastics which “were unsuitable for recycling”.
‘Heavily contaminated’
The Environment Agency said that the waste was also “heavily contaminated” with other household items, such as electricals, nappies and oil canisters. The EA added that the company, as well as its director, gained “significant financial advantage” through these actions.
At a sentencing heard at Manchester Crown Court on 27 March 2024, Roydon Resource Recovery was ordered to pay the fee of £870,000, which included £811,181 in Proceeds of Crime.
Emma Viner, enforcement and investigations manager, said: “The Environment Agency welcome the outcome of this prosecution. Roydon Resource Recovery and Wildred Sumner showed a disregard for legislation in place to protect our environment and communities.
“Environment Agency officers work tirelessly to tackle this type of criminality and the outcome of this prosecution sends a strong message to those involved in waste crime.
“Through our investigations and our work under the Proceeds of Crime Act we will ensure that waste crime does not pay and that criminals will be brought to justice.
“Illegal waste operations like this, undermine legitimate businesses, undercut their prices and blight the environment.”
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