Illegal Car Crushing Lands Firms In Court

Two companies in the United Kingdom were ordered to pay a total of £3,116 in fines and costs for illegally storing and crushing cars at an industrial estate in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The case was brought by the Environment Agency.

Agency officers went to the site this past August after receiving a tip that vehicles were being baled.

They found around 100 vehicles being baled and a number of engines stored on the site. Oil was visible on the ground that did not have a concrete surface or any other protection. Around 400 tires were piled up inside the premises.

The manager of the Bodmin yard said vehicles were brought to the site and stored for insurance assessment, then crushed and removed. Gormans Ltd had assumed the site was licensed or exempt, but had not carried out a simple check.

Garth Trickett, a partner in White Horse Car Breakers, said Gormans were baling 50 – 100 cars on the day Environment Agency officers visited the site. He said the cars were deemed scrap. Trickett admitted he had not checked to see if Gormans held the appropriate license to crush and bale vehicles at the Bodmin site.

He said the vehicles were depolluted, but confirmed there was oil on the ground. He admitted there was no waste management license or other authorization held for the site. White Horse Car Breakers subsequently ensured the contaminated soil was collected and removed to a suitable licensed site.

Appearing before magistrates, Garth Trickett of White Horse Car Breakers pled guilty to an offense under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, of knowingly permitting controlled waste, namely motor vehicles, to be treated on land at White Horse Bodmin Parkway Industrial Estate, Bodmin, Cornwall which did not have a waste management license.

Gormans Metals Ltd., pleaded guilty to treating controlled waste without a valid waste management license in contravention of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Trickett, as partner in the business was personally fined £1,000 with £540 costs and Gormans Metals Ltd fined £1,000 with £576 costs.

"Legislation requires that vehicles are only disposed of at licensed facilities. This ensures that the treatment can occur without damage to the environment. Both of these companies have been in the business for a number of years and should have been aware of the rules," said Mark Pilcher for the Environment Agency.