A transport company has been ordered to pay £167,587.13 for delivering controlled waste to an illegal site in Lincolnshire.
Fletcher Plant Limited was fined £80,000, ordered to pay costs of £50,000 and a confiscation order of £37,587.13 at Nottingham Crown Court.
The Sheffield-based company had previously been found guilty in June 2024 of failing to comply with duty of care regulations for controlled waste between 1 October 2019 and 1 May 2020.
An investigation by the Environment Agency, codenamed Operation Lord, found that Fletcher Plant organised the transport of over 1400 tonnes of controlled waste over six months.
The investigation’s findings led to 12 people and 1 company, Fletcher Plant, being charged, of which 10 pleaded guilty. Following an 8-week trial, the remaining three defendants were found guilty.
So far, 11 people have been sentenced to a total of 14 years’ imprisonment for their involvement in the illegal operation.
The court was told that intelligence gathered by the Environment Agency revealed lorry-loads of shredded waste were regularly being accepted onto the site, which is the size of a football pitch.
The judge accepted that the company did not know the site was operating illegally, but its officers had a legal requirement to carry out a duty of care.
Peter Stark, Enforcement Team Leader for the Environment Agency in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, commented: “If simple and continued due diligence checks had been made by Fletcher Plant, they would have flagged up that the site operators did not have the appropriate authorisations.
“Due diligence checks are not something that should only occur prior to starting a contract; they should occur regularly during a contract.”
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