"Conditions of a waste management licence are there to protect the environment and must be adhered to. When they are broken we take it very seriously"
Helen Courtney, environment officer at the Environment Agency
A North East landfill operator was fined £10,000 at Durham Magistrates' Court yesterday for a litter escape at one of its landfill sites.
Premier Waste Management Ltd, based in Durham, was also ordered to pay full costs of £1,292.73 to the Environment Agency, which brought the case.
Ben Reid, prosecuting for the Agency, told the court how on April 13, litter escaped from the Joint Stocks Quarry landfill at Kelloe.
The company failed to clean up the litter by the end of the day which is a condition of its waste management licence.
Officers of the Agency attended at the site at 1:50pm on April 13, and found a large amount of litter caught in the trees and shrubs near the site. Nearby fields were covered in plastic bags and a strong wind was blowing towards Kelloe. Officers could not see any site staff trying to retrieve the litter.
At 7:30pm the same day, officers returned to the site, which was now closed and there were still large quantities of litter nearby.
In July 2006, the company responded to written questions under caution.
According to the company, they had opened for business at 7am that day, and after monitoring wind speeds decided that it was safe to open.
At 8:10am, the wind speed increased and the site was closed down, but the site was then re-open at 9:15am to empty the waste transfer stations. The weather then deteriorated further and the site was shut again at 11:30am.
In mitigation, Premier Waste Management Ltd said two people had been deployed to clear escaped waste that day. The company also said it has now purchased an electronic weather station to make better wind assessments, and had installed a wind-proof bay.
Speaking after court, Helen Courtney, environment officer at the Environment Agency said:
"Conditions of a waste management licence are there to protect the environment and must be adhered to. When they are broken we take it very seriously."
Other comment
Litter that becomes lodged in trees can be extremely difficult and sometimes dangerous to recover, particularly plastics, and certainly looks unsightly. Specialist equipment and personnel may be required to remove this material from elevated locations in trees. Perhaps 1 day is insufficient to deal with some situations. (Ed)
The charges
Premier Waste Management were charged that:
On 13th April 2006, being the operator of the Joint Stocks Quarry landfill site at Ramona Avenue, Kelloe, contravened condition F1b of Waste Management Licence DUR6G by failing to retrieve escaped litter by the end of the working day.
Contrary to section 33(6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
[Source: Environment Agency]