A Middlesex waste company have been ordered to pay £17,650 after Environment Agency officers unearthed a catalogue of failures to protect the environment.
As regulators of the waste industry Environment Agency officers frequently visited Iver Recycling, in Station Approach, Oldfield Lane North, Greenford. From September 2006 officers discovered the site was failing to conform with its waste management licence. During one visit they discovered waste stacked up to 1,700m3 - more than three times the permitted 520m3 of waste.
On Thursday 4 April, the company pleaded guilty to 15 charges of failing to comply with the conditions of their Waste Management Licence. These failures were noted by Environment Officers during site visits made between 14 September 2006 and 7 December 2007.
The failures included:
· There were 19 uncovered skips piled with waste stored on public roads outside the site's licensed boundary
· The waste was not clearly marked or stored in the correct manner and this
resulted in piles of scrap metal and wood being dumped and stored outside the waste transfer shed
· Waste was continuously being deposited outside the transfer station building and
· There was no quarantine area for hazardous waste
· Important information concerning the site's operation was missing from the site diary
· The waste transfer station's roof was damaged by the amount of waste contained in it
· Waste was piled higher than the 3m permitted levels - in fact on some occasions it was within 50cm of the roof
· The bund around the diesel tank was damaged and would not have contained leaks or spills
· The dust suppression system was not always used when waste was being tipped, which led to clouds of dust escaping off site
· Mud and debris were being scattered on to public roads by the lorries
Acton Magistrates' Court fined Iver Recycling £12,000 and ordered the company to pay £5,650 costs on Thursday 4 April. The company pleaded guilty to 15 charges of failing to comply with the conditions of the waste management licence, contrary to Section 33(6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Environment Officer Mohammed Jama said: "I was amazed by the catalogue of failures committed by this company. Failures to store the waste properly, especially leaving it stacked in uncovered skips on the access road, could cause damage to the environment as well as distress to the local community.
"Quite simply the company was accepting more waste than the site could handle. I hope the fine imposed today will make other sites think twice before breaching their waste managemet licence."