Three defendants have been ordered to pay fines, victim surcharges and prosecution costs of more than £75,000 for their involvement in an illegal waste site in Northamptonshire.
The defendants were sentenced on 27 February at Northampton Magistrates’ Court for waste offences at Mill Farm near Kettering.
The Environment Agency said 34,000 tonnes of waste was stored at the site with large quantities of mixed waste piled over 10 metres high.
The Environment Agency said officers investigated the site in Great Cransley that David Goodjohn, 64, and his company, Green Infrastructure Ltd, operated without an environmental permit. They have been ordered to pay almost £32,000.
We take illegal waste activity very seriously and will not hesitate to disrupt activity and prosecute those responsible.
The third defendant, Storefield Aggregates, failed to comply with the waste duty of care by sending more than 24,000 tonnes of waste to the site between 2019 and 2021. It was ordered to pay more than £43,000.
Environment Agency Manager Yvonne Daly said: “We work to stop illegal waste activities and support legitimate business whilst protecting communities and nature from harm.
“We take illegal waste activity very seriously and will not hesitate to disrupt activity and prosecute those responsible.”
The Environment Agency sent warning letters to two other companies which also deposited waste at the site.
Staffordshire woman prosecuted for not removing illegal waste
Lissa Appleby pleaded guilty to a single offence of failing to remove illegal waste and fined £550 and also ordered to pay a victim’s surcharge of £220 at Cannock Magistrates Court.
The court was told that officers from the Environment Agency visited the address she was renting at Mill Farm, Cappers Lane, Whittington, Lichfield on October 13, 2023.
The address consisted of a domestic property, large grounds and a barn. The Environment Agency said several hundred tonnes of dry shredded waste was discovered inside the barn, containing plastic sheeting, plastic textiles, metals, wood and cardboard.
Appleby was given guidance that an environmental permit would be required for the activities carried out or for the waste to be removed by a person who held the correct waste carriers’ licence.
The Environment Agency issued a letter to immediately cease activities at the property, believing Appleby was operating an illegal waste site.
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency commented: “This site posed a significant environmental threat due to the high risk of fire and potential impact to local communities and amenities.”
