11/01/2006 - The director of an illegal waste transfer station in Theale, Berkshire, sentenced to twelve months in prison yesterday, 9 January 2006.

Hugh O’Donnell, 49, of The Nursery, Paices Hill, Aldermaston, Hampshire, runs two skip hire companies, Reading Skips Ltd and Abbey Reading Skips Ltd. Both companies operate out of a site at The Hanger, Station Road, Theale, where waste material in the skips is brought back to be sorted and then sold on or sent away for disposal.

O’Donnell pleaded guilty to eleven charges under the Environmental Protection Act 11000. The offences relate to breaches of waste management licence conditions at the Station Road site and, after the licence was revoked by the Environment Agency, to the illegal depositing, keeping, treating and burning of waste.

O’Donnell received two six-month sentences to run consecutively, and was ordered to pay Environment Agency costs of £1500.

The manager of the site, Gary James Spencer, 34, of Three Firs Way, Burghfield Common, Berkshire, also pleaded guilty to four charges. He was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £500 costs.

The companies, Reading Skips Ltd and Abbey Reading Skips Ltd, were also fined £3000 each for four offences, with costs of £2000 each.

Newbury Magistrates’ Court heard that the Environment Agency continued to closely monitor the site after huge piles of waste were illegally burnt there in 2002 and 2003. These fires caused widespread complaints from residents nearby as well as the temporary closure of the M4 and resulted in a successful prosecution of Hugh O’Donnell and Reading Skips Ltd by the Environment Agency in July 2004.

Surveillance and site inspections carried out by the Environment Agency between October and December 2004 revealed that the site was still not being managed in accordance with the requirements of its waste management licence.

Numerous breaches of licence conditions were found. These included storing waste directly on the ground with no measures in place to avoid contamination of soil, storing excessive amounts of waste, storing oil in containers with no protection against possible leaks and failing to properly maintain the infrastructure of the site such as fencing and drainage. Large piles of waste were also being regularly burned on site once more, and an adjacent fishing lake was polluted with litter and other debris.

Failure to deal with these breaches led to the Environment Agency revoking the site’s licence in December 2004, but ongoing surveillance revealed that waste continued to be brought and stored on-site.

Rod Gould, the Environment Agency’s investigating officer said: “O’Donnell is a persistent environmental offender. In 2004 he and one of his companies were fined £20,000 for illegally keeping and burning waste at this same site. But clearly, that wasn’t enough of an incentive for him to establish his operation on a legitimate footing.

“Instead, he’s carried on with the same disregard for the law as before, regularly failing to adhere to the requirements of the site’s waste management licence, requirements that ensure it poses no risk to the environment or to human health.

“Even when we withdrew the licence, O’Donnell didn’t stop, despite knowing full well that from that point on he was operating wholly outside of the law.

“But his arrogance has now earned him a spell in prison, where he’ll have plenty of time to reflect on the recklessness of his actions.”

New rules introduced in June 2005 have increased the penalties that rogue operators like O’Donnell can now face. Rod Gould explained: “It used to be a lot easier for crooked individuals to run a ‘dirty’ waste business, if they were determined enough. But offenders can now be arrested and now have plant, machinery and vehicles seized. There is also a range of charges they could face, each of which carries a fine of up to £50,000 or a year in prison.

“At the same time, we’re putting more effort and resources than ever before into tackling organised waste crime.

“So our message to any dodgy operators out there is clear: get your house in order sharpish, or expect an expensive day in court. And when you get your summons, take your toothbrush with you, because you may be fined far more than you can pay.”