18/05/2005 - 40,000 fine
with £6,181 costs for illegal waste
activities at Jewson Ltd branch at Rugby Road,
Leamington Spa.
On 12 May 2005 at Rugby Magistrates Court
Jewson Ltd were fined £40,000 after
pleading guilty to four charges of illegally
depositing, keeping and treating controlled
waste on land when they did not have a waste
management licence. The charges were brought
by the Environment Agency under Section 33
of the Environmental Protection Act 11000.
Representing the Environment Agency, Carolyn
Pickering told the Court that in February
2004 the Agency were informed by local residents
of the deposit of wastes at the Jewson Leamington
Spa branch at Rugby Road. Environment Agency
officers attended the site and discovered
that a former storage compound at the rear
of the site was being used to stockpile wastes
including soil, subsoil, concrete, metal,
and asbestos cement.
Jewson Ltd pleaded guilty to the charges
and were also ordered to pay the Environment
Agency’s costs totalling £6,181.
Speaking after the case, Gill May, an Environment
Agency Officer who led the investigation,
said: "Companies must be aware of, and
comply with their responsibilities under the
Environmental Protection Act 11000. They must
ensure that they manage their wastes so that
they do not pose a risk to the environment
or human health.
"The actions of Jewson Ltd were illegal
resulting in this fine which the Agency hopes
will act as a deterrent to others who may
be tempted to dispose of their waste illegally.
"Companies who produce waste have a
Duty of Care to ensure that it is passed on
to a registered waste carrier and is disposed
or treated at a suitably licensed waste management
facility. Anyone who is unsure about meeting
their Duty of Care should contact the Environment
Agency for advice or look at our website.
"The illegal operations continued over
four months and were of great concern to local
residents as the compound containing the waste
was surrounded by housing on three sides.
Both brown and white fragments of asbestos
cement were found to be on site that could
have posed a potential risk to human health."
In mitigation, the court heard that the company
had no previous convictions and entered a
guilty plea, had co-operated fully with the
Agency during the investigation and had made
no profit from the activities. The Court was
told that following the investigation Jewson
had spent £108,000 to dispose of all
of the waste materials at the site.
