Boss fined for running illegal waste site
Page 16
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
THE OWNER of GR Ayling Skip Hire has been fined £10,000 for operating his waste transport business without a permit, despite being warned about his activities on several occasions.
In an Environment Agency (EA) prosecution, Worthing Magistrates' Court was told how Garry Ayling operated the business in Chichester, West Sussex, but it did not have any permits in place to deal with the storage, treatment or final disposal of waste. Despite this, when hired skips were returned to the business the waste in them was tipped onto the site and sorted into recyclables, such as cardboard, plastics, construction waste and metals. Once sorted, the waste was taken
to other sites in the area. The EA warned Ayling that he was operating illegally in June 2010, but operations continued.
In February 2012, as part of Operation Mosaic, EA officers, police and Chichester District Council entered the firm's premises and found the site was operating illegally, with piles of waste onsite. Skips were being unloaded during the inspection.
Further visits by the EA in April and November 2012 found that Ayling continued to operate illegally, despite numerous warnings to stop the activities on site immediately. Officers saw huge piles of soil stored onsite, with hardcore waste stacked to more than 6m in height, as well as other waste
being sorted.
Ayling pleaded guilty to two offences and was ordered to pay £4,643 costs.
He apologised for the incident, said the site has since been cleared and added that the majority of the waste onsite was inert and posed no risk to the environment. Following the case, Ian Walton, of the EA, said: "It is disappointing that Ayling continued to ignore our repeated warnings that he was running an illegal site."
Summing up
Magistrates presiding over the case said Garry Ayling carried out the activity deliberately and that it was motivated by financial gain.