Bonfire night was used to hide illegal fire CHESTERFIELD-BASED skip
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haulier P Parker and Sons has been fined £1,000 after it used bonfire night as a cover to illegally burn waste.
In a case brought by the Environment Agency (EA), Chesterfield Magistrates' Court was told that on 4 November 2011, a neighbouring industrial unit owner noticed that a vehicle was being used to move wood from the main operating area of the firm's facility on the Pearson Industrial Estate to an area of the site normally used to store skips.
The following night — bonfire night — the neighbour saw that a bonfire had been built around a skip on the skip storage area.
It consisted of large tyres, wood, PVC window frames, oil filters and spilled oil from a drum.
The neighbour took photographs and contacted the agency. P Parker and Sons was charged with two offences under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 and the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999. In mitigation, the company said it had a well-run site and wanted to comply with all the regulations, although it had not done so in this case.
It was also ordered to pay costs of £500 to the EA, and a £15 victim surcharge.
John Hancox, environment officer at the EA, said: "In this case, bonfire night was used as a front for disposing of waste including tyres and oil filters, which not only breached the company's own environmental permit, but also allowed it to gain financially by avoiding proper disposal costs."
Summing up Waste crime is a serious offence with tough penalties. It can damage the environmen4 blight local communities and undermine those who operate legally.