The United Kingdom’s Environment Agency has prosecuted the owner of Scrapco Metal Recycling, Kent, U.K., for illegally accepting and processing electrical and metal waste at his business.
Ricky Hunn, who operates Scrapco, pled guilty to two offenses and was fined a total of £23,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,600.
According to earlier court testimony, Hunn purchased the scrap site in 2009. The license covering the site allowed the company to accept and process scrap metal generated from vehicles; the company was not permitted to process electrical scrap or other types of metals. Hunn applied for a license to deal with general metals, requiring a site visit by the Environment Agency to assess whether it was suitable for the expanded license.
In November 2009, Environment Agency officers conducted a routine inspection of the site and reportedly found large quantities of metal waste and electrical scrap. Officers also said they found uncontained pools of contaminated oil that had flowed into the site’s drainage system and a nearby watercourse. Car breaking activities also were taking place, according to Environment Agency officers, which were not in line with the terms of the permit granted for the business. Records of the wastes were not being kept, according to officers.
Another inspection on January 2010 also found a significant amount of electrical scrap at the site, according to officers. Scrapco staff was advised they were operating illegally and could face prosecution for their actions, the Environment Agency says.
Further visits in February and March of 2010 revealed that the illegal operations at Scrapco had continued and only limited improvements to the waste management activities on site had been made by the business, according to the Environment Agency.
Commenting on the case, Jamie Hamilton from the Environment Agency, says, “Prosecution is usually a last resort for us, but it was clear that the situation at the Scrapco site could no longer be tolerated. Mr. Hunn and his staff were repeatedly warned about the illegal waste activities taking place on the site, but they chose to ignore our advice.
“Sites that operate without the appropriate waste permits, as granted by the Environment Agency, are putting both the environment and human health at risk. They are operating without proper regulation and also have an unfair competitive advantage over legitimate waste operators,” Hamilton adds.
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