A 44 year-old man has been fined £120 after pleading guilty to transporting waste without the necessary licence. The offence was discovered during Operation Highway, a multi-agency operation between the Environment Agency, Nottinghamshire Police, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), HM Revenue and Customs, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and Via East Midlands.

On 12 October 2018, at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court, Carl Fairhurst was fined £120, ordered to pay Environment Agency Costs of £135 as well as a victim surcharge of £30

Sheffield based Mr Fairhurst was caught transporting controlled waste without a licence during the multi-agency road stop on the A1 at Blyth in Nottinghamshire. Police directed him to pull in to a check point at the services where the vehicle was examined and confirmed to be carrying waste.

After providing various different names, and claiming to be working for a number of different companies, the driver finally identified himself as Carl Fairhurst. It was confirmed that Mr Fairhurst was self employed.

Mr Fairhurst was unable to produce a valid waste carrier registration and was interviewed under caution at the check point by an Environment Agency officer.

Anyone transporting waste as part of their business, whether it’s their waste or someone else’s, has to register for a Waste Carriers Licence.

During the search of the vehicle, Environment Agency officers established that Mr Fairhurst was working as a sub contractor to a multinational telecommunications company.

Speaking after the case, Iain Regan, Waste Regulatory Specialist at the Environment Agency said:

We were concerned to find that in this case a blue chip telecommunications company was employing an unregistered waste carrier, which increased the risk that their waste would not be managed appropriately or legally. We promptly raised the matter with the company concerned, requiring them to take action to prevent possible further breaches of their Duty of Care. We are pleased to report that the company has since reviewed its procedures and checked its supply chain to ensure that its waste is managed legally in the future

We want householders and businesses to only use licensed waste carriers. Large companies have an important role to play in protecting the environment by only using legal waste management contractors. We hope the legitimate carriers in the industry see that we are taking action against free riders and illegal operators who seek to evade the system.

Operation Highway and its sister operation; Operation Transporter are taking place regularly throughout Nottinghamshire on all classes of road. As this case shows, unregistered waste carriers face a greater risk of being caught and prosecuted as a result of these operations.

Members of the public can report unregistered waste carriers or illegal waste sites to the Environment Agency, in confidence on 0800 80 60 60 (24/7 service), or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Every year, the regulator publishes its Regulating for People, the Environment and Growth (RPEG) report which sets out the regulatory performance of businesses holding environmental permits in England and the effectiveness of the EA’s regulatory approach.

The report shows that 93% of the 14,000 businesses the EA regulates demonstrated good compliance with their environmental permit conditions. Businesses which harmed the environment, however faced record penalties. A total of £25.5 million in fines were issued by the courts for environmental offences brought by the Agency compared to £8 million last year.

Waste crime continues to blight communities, cause environmental harm, and undercut legitimate business. The Environment Agency is closing more than two illegal waste sites every day but discovering a similar number of new illegal sites. The report acknowledges waste crime is becoming more organised and that more needs to be done. This will be addressed in the government’s forthcoming organised waste crime review, which has examined how the Environment Agency, partners, and the law enforcement system can best tackle the problem.

The report also highlights the increased use of Enforcement Undertakings for less serious environmental incidents. In 2017/18 there were a record £2.2 million worth of Enforcement Undertakings accepted by the Agency. By companies admitting liability and making a financial contribution to put right the harm they have caused, both the environment and communities benefit.

Other key findings include:

• 812 illegal waste sites were shutdown in 2017/18; more than 2 a day.
• Serious pollution incidents fell to 419, down 18% compared to 2016.
• The number of persistently poorly managed sites reduced by 18% compared to 2016.
• Environmental charities, organisations and projects received almost £2.2 million, compared to £0.9 million in 2016, in Enforcement Undertakings.

Harvey Bradshaw, Executive Director of the Environment Agency, said:

Our regulation is supporting a healthier environment and safer communities – serious pollution incidents fell by 18%. We closed down over 800 illegal waste sites, and the courts have imposed record levels of fines on companies for environmental offences.

We are committed to supporting businesses to innovate and grow, in return, we expect that businesses take their responsibilities to protecting the environment seriously.

The report can be found here