Skip hire boss ordered to pay nearly £110,000 for ‘illegal waste activities’

The Agency’s statement on Friday (29 September) explained that Gary Shorthouse and G R Shorthouse Ltd admitted unlawfully storing, treating and disposing of waste without an environmental permit.

Gary Ralph Shorthouse, 58, was fined £68,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £33,395.74.

He was also disqualified from acting as a company director for 5 years. G R Shorthouse Ltd was fined £8,500.

According to the EA, the court was told that the illegal activity was carried out by the company, but Shorthouse consented to the activity at Park Farm, Doddington, Hopton Wafers.

The company ran a skip-hire business, bringing waste to the site from domestic and commercial customers, “for financial gain”.

The waste was then sorted, with some waste being burned, metal being sold for scrap, and the remainder being sent for legitimate disposal elsewhere.

In mitigation, the court heard that Shorthouse had pleaded guilty to the offences prior to trial, and was suffering with significant health issues.

‘Clear message’

Lyndon Essex, waste technical specialist for the Environment Agency in the West Midlands, said: “We hope this case will send a clear message that we do not hesitate to take action to protect the environment and bring perpetrators to justice.

“We are actively targeting illegal waste activities across the country and would urge all those seeking to become involved in the waste industry to ensure they have the appropriate permits and authorisations in place.”

Permit

The Agency added that the court was further told that in June 2019, Environment Agency officers found evidence that the site was being used for the storage of scrap metal, burning of wood waste, and unauthorised use of construction and demolition waste.

The waste activity was unlawful because neither the company nor Mr Shorthouse held an environmental permit, the statement added.

A formal interview under caution with Shorthouse took place in September 2019, the Agency outlined, in which he admitted that the company was using the site as a base for the skip-hire business. He also admitted that the company was storing, treating and burning waste.

Mr Shorthouse, according to the statement, had been convicted of a similar offence in 2003, and received a formal written warning from the Environment Agency for offending in 2008. G R Shorthouse Ltd had also been convicted of waste related offences in 2012.