The Agency explained that the prosecution came on the back of an investigation which found both companies to be in breach of an environmental permit.
The regulator outlined that Octagon Green Solutions Ltd and its director Kevin John Wanless, 50, of Lead Road, Blaydon, Gateshead, and Recyclogical Ltd of Newbold Terrace, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, all appeared at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday (21 March).
They pleaded to guilty to a series of offences relating to litter in June 2018 as well as accepting too much on to site in the same year and odour issues in February 2019, the Agency continued. Recyclogical Ltd was ordered to pay more than £70,000 in fines and costs, while Octagon Green Solutions Ltd was fined £1,800 and its director Kevin Wanless £450, it added.
‘Distress’
Andrew Turner, area environment manager for the Environment Agency in the North East, said: “Our officers have persisted through difficult hurdles and legal challenges to bring this case to court showing our commitment to taking robust action against those who flout the law.
“I clearly remember the distress suffered by local residents due to the actions of these companies and I’m pleased they have now been sentenced,” Mr Turner noted.
He then stated that environmental permits along with associated odour and litter management plans are in place to protect both the community and environment, warning that those in breach “can expect enforcement action”.
Background
The Agency explained that Blaydon Landfill site was purchased by Octagon Green Solutions, which had Kevin Wanless as director in 2013. It operated under an environmental permit allowing for a non-hazardous landfill operation, which includes both odour and litter management plans, the Agency continued.
The regulator then set out that while the operation of the site passed to Recyclogical Ltd in April 2017, OGS remained the permit holder. It said that an Agency officer visited the site in June 2018 after receiving calls about litter escaping following Storm Hector, finding mainly plastic litter strewn across hedgerows, fields and in people’s gardens.
An inspection then found that the site kept operating despite the storm, accepting 53 loads of waste. The netting to prevent litter escaping was however not correctly positioned and had large holes in it, the Agency highlighted.
Upon returning a few days later to check on the site’s end of day procedures, the officer found the waste uncovered even though this went against the permit requirement, the regulator noted. This required for the waste to be covered at the end of each day to reduce the risk of odours developing. The Agency said it was then contacted by director Kevin Wanless with an action plan to deal with the issues.
Allowance
According to the Agency, Blaydon’s landfill’s permit allowed the site to accept a total of 409,000 tonnes of waste annually. In November 2018, its officer noted that the site was close to exceeding its total capacity, ordering it to stop accepting waste until the end of the year, it stated.
The Agency noted that despite this, the site kept accepting waste in December 2018, exceeding its permitted capacity by 19% with a total of 487,368 tonnes of waste accepted that year. Wanless, however, described this as an “oversight”, the regulator added.
A few months later, an Agency officer attended the site following complaints from residents about odour, finding that it could be detected as far as 1 kilometre away from the site, the Agency then explained. The visit also revealed that the waste was unsuitably positioned, reaching approximately 15 metres high, which was described as a ‘cliff face’, and not covered. As a result, the site’s permit was suspended until the waste had been covered.
Capacity increase
Octagon applied to increase the capacity of the landfill site by 90,000 tonnes, to an overall capacity over around 410,000 tonnes in July 2020. The Agency had begun to process the variation, planning to consult with interested parties. The operator, however, withdrew the application in August 2020.
Octagon has also applied to transfer its permit several times over the past few years, asking the Agency to transfer the permit for the site to Recyclogical in August 2017. This was however rejected as the regulator said that “it did not have the confidence that permit compliance could be achieved” (see letsrecycle.com story).
Mitigation
The Agency highlighted that in mitigation, the defendants stated that the site had historically been problematic when run by previous operators.
In addition, Recycological acquired a new owner in 2020 and efforts had been made by their new owner to engage with the community, the Agency said.
The regulator pointed out that the court ruled that the defendants’ actions had been negligent, with the offences aggravated by the site’s location close to housing and the lengthy period of time over which the problems persisted.
The Blaydon Quarry landfill site was eventually close to waste deposits in September 2021, the Agency concluded.
Laughable. They probably made that much in a day.