Organics recycling firm Vital Earth GB is considering an appeal against a 75,000 fine it received last month for depositing contaminated compost on land without an environmental permit.
At a hearing on August 21 at Derbyshires Magistrates Court, the company pleaded guilty to depositing controlled waste without a permit. Alongside the fine it was ordered to pay 13,535.26 in costs and a 15 victim surcharge.
However, the company said the level of the fine was exceptionally high given that it has since cleared all waste from the land, and brought it back to pristine condition, and it is now considering an appeal.
According to the Environment Agency, which brought the case, Vital Earth supplied a local tenant farmer with compost to be used on rented land off Dark Lane, Hob Lane and at Grange Farm in early 2011. The farmer was informed by the company that the compost fully complied with the relevant criteria and was not considered to be a waste product.
However, following its delivery, the farmer found a high level of plastic contamination in the compost, including kitchen knives, bottle tops and lighters.
A formal sampling process was undertaken by the Agency in April 2011 which found that the compost had an average contaminant level between six and ten times the permitted limit, and should have been classified as waste.
Under the Compost Quality Protocol, quality compost that is mixed with waste materials, such as plastics and paper, is classed as waste and is therefore subject to regulatory controls. Compost that meets the PAS100 standard is classed as a product, not waste, and is not subject to the waste controls.
Vital Earth began to clear the waste by May 2011, and the site was fully cleared by July 2011.
Guilty
Speaking after the case, an Environment Agency officer in charge of the investigation, said: This is a serious environmental crime. By depositing controlled waste Vital Earth have fallen significantly short of their environmental duties. We will not hesitate to prosecute in such cases.
In mitigation, the court was told that Vital Earth has no previous convictions for waste offences, and that it pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. It added that the company took steps to rectify the situation such as implementing additional training for staff, updating procedures for the storage of material, and removing the waste from the farmers fields.
Vital Earth
Following the court case, Vital Earth said it apologised unreservedly for its actions but stressed it had worked tirelessly to restore the affected land.
A statement issued by the company said: Since the matter was brought to light Vital Earth has worked tirelessly to remediate the affected land bringing it back to its pristine condition prior to the error being made which is now the position and compensated the farmer in question.
Additionally major changes have been made to the working practices at its site in Ashbourne to ensure that this doesnt happen again including the construction of new storage bays to prevent cross contamination.
Although accepting our guilt we do feel the size of the fine is exceptionally high given the actions weve taken since the incident and no lasting damage caused so are considering our options to appeal against the size of the fine.
Commenting on the case, Jeremy Jacobs, REA technical director and formerly managing director of the Association for Organics Recycling, told letsrecycle.com: Our expectation is for operators on the PAS100 scheme to promote a quality ethos which is extremely important.
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