Three people have been prosecuted by the Environment Agency for the large-scale dumping of 26,000t of illegal waste, the equivalent weight of around 2,170 double-decker buses.
An Enviornment Agency investigation, named Operation Cesium, involved 17 sites across Liverpool, Lancashire, Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Shropshire, Yorkshire and Humberside.
The agency said “organised criminal gang members” approached waste facilities and offered to dispose of baled waste at reduced costs, which they later abandoned.
They are estimated to have avoided landfill tax costs in excess of £2.7 million, while the cost of clearing the waste at the landowners’ expense is estimated at more than £3.2 million.
53-year-old Marcus Highes and 52-year-old Richard Hopkinson attended a hearing at Birmingham Crown Court where they pleaded guilty to various environmental, company and fraud offences.
51-year-old Robert McDonagh attended a hearing at the same court where he too pleaded guilty to environmental, company and fraud offences.
Impacts for the victims included the financial costs of removing waste from the land, fly and rat infestations causing nearby businesses to close, and the closure and demolition of sites.
There were also further impacts to the environment, the victims’ health and the neighbouring communities, the Environment Agency said.
Sentencing is set for December 17-18, 2024 at Birmingham Crown Court.
Offences
Offences included the men entering into rental or lease agreements with owners of land, farms, industrial units and, in one instance, an operational airfield, under the false pretences of storing plastic pellets and motor vehicles or for the temporary storage of refuse derived fuel for later exportation to incinerators abroad.
The baled waste, normally made up of household or business waste, was then abandoned at the sites.
They also diverted the waste to sites which were owned but unused, forcing entry and depositing bales of waste.
This method was highly organised and made to seem legitimate by the gang deploying ‘security officers’ in hi-vis clothing at the entrance to the sites, the Environment Agency said.
Environment Agency enforcement and investigations manager, Emma Viner, said:
“Operation Cesium was a complex investigation into large-scale waste dumps across the country by a gang who spared little thought for their victims and the environmental, financial and health impacts they caused.
“We take our responsibility to protect people and the environment seriously, whether by stopping large-scale dumping or making life harder for criminals by disrupting illegal activity through tough and decisive action.”
