Company is fined over skip waste

A Black Country waste company which admitted unlawfully dumping skips full of rubbish has been fined £11,000.

Skips R Us (Birmingham) Limited, based on the London Street Trading Estate in Smethwick, pleaded guilty to five charges under the Environmental Protection Act of leaving loaded skips in front of the yard entrance without the authority of a current waste management order in August 2007.

It also admitted sorting controlled waste on land when there was no waste management licence authorising such a deposit or activity between July 7, 2006, and August 14 2007.

Former company secretary Colin Smith, aged 56, from Smiths Way, Water Orton, Birmingham also pleaded guilty to five charges. Miss Romilly Edge, prosecuting on behalf of the Environment Agency, told magistrates in West Bromwich yesterday the company was in the business of hiring out empty skips which they would collect from the user and take to be disposed of appropriately by the company.

"The offences in which the company and the company secretary are involved are in regard to unlawful activity that was carried out on the site," she said.

"It came to the Environment Agency's notice that there could be unlawful activity carried out by the company.

"As a result environmental officers went to that site to carry out a number of covert surveillance operations." Magistrates were told officers visited the site on August 8, 2007, at 10.30am and observed a skip lorry.

The full skip was unloaded on land just outside the company site. Later that day another officer saw another skip being unloaded at the same place outside the site.

On August 10 2007 the officers returned and saw another skip unloaded outside the site.

Miss Edge added: "The mischief in these offences is that the company didn't deposit the skips in accordance with a waste management licence.

"In order for any individuals who tip waste on any land they must do so in accordance with an environmental waste management license to protect the environment to ensure all waste is appropriately disposed of."

Mr John McCormack, defending Smith, said: "Because my client had become company secretary some of his responsibility was to ensure that the company acted properly, but as for the main control of the company he didn't deal with matters."

Magistrates had earlier heard that charges against the company director, Vincent Meddings had been dropped.

Presiding magistrate Mr Karl Bevington fined the company £11,000. They were ordered to pay costs of £2,000 and a £15 victim surcharge.

Smith was fined £1,000, ordered to pay costs of £1,000 and also a £15 victim surcharge.