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Turning gain into pain
Page 34
Page 35
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Ireland's policy of handing down jail sentences and million euro fines is sending a clear message to flytippers.
Words: Brendan Nolan
A spell in jail or a Elm fine will concentrate the mind of any waste contractor contemplating illegal dumping. If you also factor in multi-million euro costs for restoring land, and the downside comes into focus.
Waste contractor John Healy, operator of Blessington Plant Hire and Blue Bins, was fined a record Elm by the circuit court, on 8 May 2008, for illegal dumping in County Wicklow over four years from January 1996 to October 2001. Healy collected waste from other operators before dumping it near Blessington Lakes Reservoir, the court heard.
Landowner Roadstone Dublin spent €20m unearthing 180,000 tonnes of waste, separating contaminants and sending around 90,000 tonnes to licensed landfills. Roadstone denied knowledge of the illegal dumping.
On 29 July 2006, Neville Watson of Kilmurray, Trim, Co Meath, was sentenced to six months jail for dumping without licence at a site in Baltinglass, Co Wicklow. Co-accused John O'Reilly, of Roberstown, Naas, was fined €150,000 for allowing his land to be used for dumping on a date between November 2000 and December 2001. These high-profile cases penalised offences that took place a few years ago.
Clear supply chain
Most licensed waste operators are members of the Irish Waste Management Association (IWMA), which condemns illegal activity. Its secretary Erik 0' Donovan says large-scale illegal dumping is now a legacy issue.
"Unauthorised waste activities are a thing of the past. There is a very clear supply chain. Waste is collected by somebody who is licensed and it goes to a facility that is licensed, where that waste is treated. If waste is exported, it is also subject to regulation. It's a closed loop of regulation. Fly tipping at the domestic level is a man in a van taking waste and dumping it somewhere."
Responsibility for regulating waste exports is vested in the Trans Frontier Shipment Office (TFSO).
A measure to amend the definitions of holder of waste came into effect on 1 July 2008 through the Waste Management (Registration of Brokers and Dealers) Regulations 2008. Any individual or business that arranges the collection, recycling, recovery or disposal of waste on behalf of another party must register as a waste broker with the IPSO. A haulier carrying waste for a client is responsible under waste law for the load.
"The haulier cannot take waste and dump it and blame the person who gave it to him." says O'Donovan. "The person who owns it is the holder of the waste."
Unlike the old dumps of the 1990s, today's landfill is a highly engineered facility. Average gate fee is €135 per tonne. In 1996. gate fees were El 0 per tonne.
Money in rubbish
"Waste is seen as a resource. The focus is on recycling and on getting the value out of the waste," says O'Donovan.
Closure of redundant dumps created a shortage of landfill space, and in 200312004, thousands of tonnes of waste were illegally transported from the Republic to Northern Ireland, according to the Environment & Heritage Service of Northern Ireland, In December 2004, 10 facilities in the Republic were raided by gardai, targeting companies suspected of illegal cross-border shipments. In Northern Ireland, an Environmental Crime Team tackled illegal waste management.
Investigated were 1,256 cases of suspected illegal dumping in 2004 and 1,167 cases in 2005. Up to March 2006, a further 202 investigations were being conducted.
On 11 December 2007, Kevin Reel of Silverbridge, Newry, pleaded guilty to three charges and received three three-month suspended sentences at Armagh Magistrates' Court for breaches in 2005. It was estimated 8,775 tonnes of waste were deposited at the site Reel controlled.
On 9 January 2008. Eric Hyde of Newtownhamilton, received an 18-month suspended sentence at Newry Crown Court for offences in 2003. He pleaded guilty to two offences. He also received a £100.000 confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2001 Household waste with addresses from counties Wicklow, Wexford, Donegal and Cork were found in the dump controlled by Hyde.
Anybody wanting a waste collection permit must be fit and competent and have financial resources in case something goes awry. The operator's premises must be licensed and have planning permissions for the business.
The IWMA estimates that total administrative costs for its members to ensure that collection permits are in order is around €13 million, With an estimated 30,704,149 tonnes of waste generated in 2006, there's big money in waste, and big penalties for those that go astray. iffi