A waste haulier has received a 12-month prison sentence for illegally dumping thousands of used tyres.
In a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency (EA), Mold Crown Court was told how Mark Watts, 41, of Burntwood, Staffordshire, transported the tyres to rented land at Abercynllaith, Oswestry and also a unit on the Broad Oak Business Park in Whitchurch in 2008 and 2009, neither site being authorised to accept this sort of waste.
Watts had operated under the name of Storm Recycling from August 2008, and was being paid by tyre-fitting businesses across Shropshire and North Wales to remove and dispose of waste tyres.
When the EA discovered what was happening at the sites, Watts was served with two notices to remove the tyres under Section 59 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
However, neither notice was properly complied with, which meant thousands of tyres had to be removed at expense to the landowner.
Because Watts had avoided the costs of applying for an environmental permit as well as proper handling and disposal costs, he was effectively undercutting lawful competitors.
He had also not applied for or been granted planning permission for the sites.
Defence counsel told the court Watts had been affected by family illness and financial problems and was "very remorseful" about what had happened.
However, Judge Parry, sentencing under the Environmental Protection Act and Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007, said Watts had acted deliberately and been "motivated by financial gain".
EA officer Helen Cripps says: "Had these tyres been set alight, perhaps through vandalism or by accident, the fire would have been very difficult to put out and would have produced a vast range of substances, many of which could harm the environment or human health."
- Roadtransport would like to make clear that there is no connection between Storm Recycling Limited based in Winsford Cheshire and the Storm Recycling mentioned above, run by Mark Watts.
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