Think Environmentals permit revocation upheld

The Environment Agencys decision to revoke Think Environmentals permit for failing to remove illegally buried waste and combat odour at a site in Northamptonshire has been upheld by the Planning Inspectorate.

Think Environmental Ltd ran a bio-drying and waste management site at Blackbridge Farm in Northamptonshire, and the firm was ordered to pay a total of 48,000 by Wellingborough Magistrates Court in October 2012 after pleading guilty to charges relating to waste at the site (see letsrecycle.com story).

The case followed an investigation by the Environment Agency and complaints that odour from the site had left some residents feeling sick. The company, which has its head office in Rugby, had in 2009 also illegally buried 3,000 tonnes of waste from the permitted site in a nearby paddock.

Fires at the site in September and October 2011 also destroyed most of the infrastructure, waste treatment and storage area.

According to the Agency, the fires caused smoke concerns to residents and led to the closure of the A6 on one occasion as well as fish being killed on the Alledge Brook.

The company was ordered to clear the site, but failed to meet deadlines to do so, the Agency said.

Permit

Think Environmental held a permit to keep and treat non-hazardous biodegradable waste, which it shredded, bio-dried and stored at the site, but this was revoked by the Agency on May 23 2013 after a sustained period of non-compliance with the permit.

An appeal against this decision made under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 was heard by the Planning Inspectorate in December 2013, but it was revealed by the Agency on Friday (May 16) that this appeal has now been dismissed.

In upholding the decision, inspector Isobel McCretton stated: Given the sustained non-compliance and offending at the site and failure to comply with a raft of enforcement measures, I consider that the Environmental Permit should be revoked.

The revocation notice was issued after a sustained period of non-compliance with the permit. Advice, warnings, other enforcement action, voluntary agreements and Post Conviction Plans all failed to secure removal of the excess waste from the site and the paddock and compliance with the permit conditions.

She added: There was a repeat pattern of offending with serious impact on health and the environment. There were ongoing environmental problems at the site and the Environment Agency considered that the appellant was likely to re-offend.

At the time of writing, no comment from Think Environmental Ltd had been received by letsrecycle.com.