Albert Skip Hire Ltd, manager Raymond Anthony Stewart and his brother company director Paul Stuart Shepherd were convicted on Friday (November 8), following an investigation by the Environment Agency. Raymond, Paul and the company had denied all charges put to them.
Family members Jack Richard Shepherd and Tony Leigh Shepherd were also convicted following earlier guilty pleas. Sentencing will take place at Teesside Crown Court on December 12 2013.
Offences among the five defendants included: operating a waste facility without a permit; depositing waste without a permit; and, breaching a suspension notice that ordered the firms activities to cease.
Lee Fish, prosecuting on behalf of the Environment Agency, told the court that illegal activities were carried out from 2009 to 2011 at the skip hire firms base in Dodsworth Street, and at another site, West Musgrave Farm, St Helens, Bishop Auckland. The company has a previous conviction for unlawfully depositing waste at West Musgrave Farm.
According to the Agency, at the Dodsworth Street site, the company was storing and depositing waste on an access road, for which there was no permit in place. Investigating officers saw these activities taking place when they visited the site a number of times between March 2011 and March 2012. In July 2011, an enforcement notice was served upon the company, requiring the waste to be removed. But when the deadline passed in August of that year, the waste was still there.
The site had an environmental permit which allowed the storage of some waste, but the volume was exceeded. An enforcement notice was also issued that suspended the sites permit and ordered that the waste be removed. However, the Agency said waste continued to be taken to Dodsworth Street between October 2011 and March 2012.
Investigation
No environmental permit ever existed for West Musgrave Farm but investigations into activities revealed that construction and demolition waste, including plasterboard, was deposited at the farm between August and December 2009. Waste was also seen being taken to West Musgrave Farm in 2010. In June 2010, a search of the site, which involved the digging of exploratory pits, revealed construction and demolition waste to a depth of one metre. Tony Shepherd was served with an enforcement notice in March 2011 requiring him to remove all waste from the site, but this was not complied with.
In addition to the waste found at West Musgrave Farm, environmental pollution was seen in Tinsdale Beck, a watercourse that runs alongside the property. In October and November 2010, investigators saw that the beck contained a brown sludge with a surface scum, which had entered the watercourse from the farm.
Enforcement
David Edwardson, environmental crime team leader at the Environment Agency said: Todays verdict brings to an end a long investigation and trial into illegal activities by Albert Skip Hire and the Shepherds. Their operations were carried out in the interests of profit, unfortunately at the expense of the environment. By not complying with waste regulations, the company also undermined legitimate businesses.
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Mr Edwardson added: We would like to thank Durham Constabulary, Durham County Council, Darlington Borough Council, Durham and Darlington Fire Service, VOSA and the Health and Safety Executive for their help in tackling this type of crime. Together we are determined that people who flout the law will be brought before the courts and dealt with accordingly.
When contacted by letsrecycle.com, Albert Skip Hire could not be reached for comment.
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