The latest figures mean a new total of six SEPA-led waste crime prosecutions in the last 12 months resulting in £120,000 fines, £47,211 in Confiscation Orders and five Community Payback Orders totalling 1,150 hours.
The updated figures are the result of two SEPA-led prosoecutions where the operator of a Strathblane landfill site was fined £37,000 at Stirling Sheriff Court on after landfilling inappropriate waste at their site for over two and a half years; and a Cumbernauld-based waste management company was also fined £12,000 for failing in its Duty of Care.
Muirhouse Landfill Limited pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to comply with six different conditions of their permit, one of which was that the site could only be used for landfilling inert waste.
“This type of criminality has a serious impact on the local environment, legitimate waste operators and the local community as well as the public purse in lost landfill tax revenue.”
Dow Waste Management Limited (which recently changed its name to Dow Group Limited) pled guilty to failing to properly describe their waste when completing waste transfer notes, and failing to have a system in place to identify problems.
A report on both companies was sent to the Procurator Fiscal following investigations carried out by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
Anne Anderson, SEPA Chief Officer, said: “Every day SEPA works to protect and enhance Scotland’s environment and we’re clear that compliance is non-negotiable.
“SEPA is committed to cracking down on waste criminals and with the site receiving inappropriate wastes, its right that Muirhouse Landfill Limited was fined £37,000. This type of criminality has a serious impact on the local environment, legitimate waste operators and the local community as well as the public purse in lost landfill tax revenue.
“It’s also encouraging that Dow Waste Management Limited (now Dow Group Limited) was fined £12,000 for on occasions failing to properly identify and describe their waste which made it more difficult for people dealing with those wastes further down the line to satisfy themselves that they could accept the waste. SEPA staff worked hard to bring the perpetrators to justice and these sentences recognise that significant effort.”
