Paul Sellars, of Greetham, near Oakham, was sentenced at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 29 October 2026.
He was also ordered to pay £400 towards costs plus a £154 surcharge.
In addition, Sellars was banned from carrying out any work involving waste activities for two years, whether as a volunteer, sole trader, partner or director.
He is also prohibited from applying for a waste carrier licence or registering with the Environment Agency (EA) for any waste exemption.
District Judge Nick Watson said Sellars had shown a “flagrant disregard for the law” by accepting waste and failing to store it safely.
Greetham waste fire
Sellars operated a skip hire business at Wood Lane, Greetham, under an environmental permit allowing him to accept and transfer household, commercial and industrial waste.
However, Rutland County Council cancelled its contract with the business in July 2023 over concerns about the volume of waste stored on site and the safety of operatives and drivers.
The EA subsequently served a suspension order on 12 February 2024, prohibiting further waste imports.
The following day, a fire broke out in a waste pile measuring approximately four metres high. The blaze was believed to have been caused by a discarded lithium-ion battery and took fire crews more than three hours to extinguish.
Despite repeated verbal and written warnings from the EA, Sellars continued to accept waste and ignored two notices requiring him to remove excess material from the site.
Sellars admitted operating a waste facility outside its permitted boundaries between 25 October 2023 and 21 August 2024.
He also pleaded guilty to accepting waste without the necessary permission, storing it unsafely and accepting waste after his environmental permit had been suspended.
The EA began proceedings to revoke the permit, but this became unnecessary after Sellars sold the site to a new operator in August 2024. The new operator has since cleared the site.
Laura Richardson, Environment Manager for the EA in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, said: “The Environment Agency will pursue any person or company that fails to uphold the law to protect nature and will continue to press for the strongest possible penalties.
“Failure to comply with these legal requirements is a serious offence that can damage the environment and harm human health.
“If anyone has environmental concerns they should call our 24/7 hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or Crimestoppers anonymously and in confidence on 0800 555 111.”
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