01/03/2005 - A builder
who illegally stored and burned waste on his
premises in the pretty riverside town of Goring-on-Thames
was ordered to pay nearly £8,000 at
Oxford Magistrates Courts on 28 February.
Kenneth Cresswell, 55, who runs Cresswell
Constructions from a site at Gatehampton Manor,
Goring-on-Thames, pleaded guilty to a total
of four offences under the Environmental Protection
Act.
All the offences related to illegal depositing,
storing and disposal by burning of building
waste at the unlicensed site and to a failure
by the builder to be registered as a carrier
of waste.
The court heard that Environment Agency officers
had noticed a sizeable accumulation of waste
material at the Gatehampton Manor site whilst
in the area in August and that some had been
burned. Subsequent record checks revealed
that no waste management licence, which allows
and regulates the lawful handling of waste,
covered any address in the immediate vicinity.
Investigating officers from the Environment
Agency visited Mr Cresswell's premises on
1 September 2004 and found a large pile of
mixed builder’s waste which included a distinctive
painted fireplace. There was also further
evidence of the burning of waste.
Mr Cresswell was interviewed and told that
it was an offence to deposit, keep and burn
waste on land that was not controlled by a
waste management licence. Mr Cresswell was
also told that he should have been registered
as a waste carrier, and was breaking the law
every time he brought waste back to the yard.
Mr Cresswell stated that he had been dealing
with waste in this manner for fifteen years.
He was instructed to desist.
Environment Agency officers revisited the
site on 17 September to find that even more
building waste had accumulated. Angie Wills,
the Environment Agency’s investigating officer,
estimated the size of the pile to be fifteen
metres long, three metres wide and one metre
high.
There was also a quantity of ash adjacent
to and underneath the waste pile. This included
melted plastic piping and bin bags, and burned
carpet underlay. Most significantly, the ash
also contained the charred remains of a variety
of materials that had been noted by the investigating
officers on their previous visit, including
the painted fireplace. This clearly showed
that it had been burned after Mr Cresswell
had been advised that doing so was an offence.
When later interviewed under caution, Mr
Cresswell admitted that waste from building
jobs was brought to Gatehampton Manor in the
company vans and dumped. It was then either
burnt or stored for later disposal. He admitted
that he had not taken the earlier instructions
and warnings of the Agency officers seriously
enough.
“The movement, storage and disposal of waste
are all strictly controlled,” said Angie Wills.
“Carriers of waste must be registered with
us, and anyone receiving storing or disposing
of waste must hold a waste management licence
and rigidly adhere to the terms of it. This
ensures that waste is managed responsibly,
without risk to human health or the environment
and that their premises do not impact negatively
on the local community.
“Mr Cresswell was given fair warning that
he was breaking the law, but chose to ignore
that advice and has paid the consequences.”
She continued: “His burning of this waste
in an uncontrolled manner was irresponsible
and anti-social. By doing so he risked releasing
any number of toxins into the atmosphere,
including dioxins that could potentially be
harmful to human health.
“The ash that is left behind can also cause
problems. It may well contain toxic metals
such as mercury, lead, chromium and arsenic,
which if washed into the soil or nearby watercourses
by rain, could contaminate drinking water
and food.
“This case highlights the potential damage
even a relatively small amount of waste can
cause if it is not handled in an environmentally
considerate and lawful way, and the vigilance
with which we will pursue offenders.”
The public can assist the Environment Agency
in combating environmental offenders by reporting
them to the Agency's 24-hour emergency hotline
on 0800 80 70 60.
Background information
Kenneth Cresswell was fined a total of £6,000
for the following offences under Sections
33(1)(a), (b) and (c), Section 33(6) of the
Environmental Protection Act 11000:
£2,000 for one charges of knowingly
permitting controlled waste to be deposited
on land when there was no waste management
licence in force authorising that deposit
£2,000 for one charge of keeping controlled
waste on land not covered by or in accordance
with a waste management licence
£2,000 for one charge of disposing of
controlled waste in a manner likely to cause
pollution to the environment or harm to human
health
Mr Cresswell was also fined £660 for
the following offence under Section 1(1) of
the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989:
transporting controlled waste in the course
of a business without being registered as
a waste carrier
Mr Cresswell was also ordered to pay costs
of £1,046.04
