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Workers sacked over tip waste
Wednesday 2nd December 2009, 12:06PM GMT.
Three Telford tip workers have been sacked after it was claimed they took thousands of pounds in cash in return for turning a blind eye to firms dumping waste, it was revealed today.
Businesses using the Granville tip in Redhill have to pay owners Sita UK a lump sum depending on the weight of the waste, with landfill tax also payable.
But an investigation by Sita found three of the six workers at the site were taking cash in exchange for not pressing a button to weigh the waste, saving companies a small fortune in costs and landfill tax.
Bosses said the three members of staff involved had been dismissed following an investigation.
Sita spokeswoman Nicola Dowlen said that the money involved “ran into thousands of pounds”.
She said no decision had yet been taken about whether or not to prosecute the workers.
Declaring
General manager Geraint Rees said the men were dismissed for taking cash payments for waste coming into the site without declaring it to the owner of the tip.
Mr Rees said the company’s investigation found they accepted money from “a small number of local companies that regularly drop off waste at the site”.
He said: “As soon as the issue came to light we took immediate action. We notified both the Environment Agency, who regulate the site and HM Revenue and Customs, who receive landfill tax collected on every tonne of waste that is deposited in the landfill.
“The Environment Agency is satisfied the waste that went to the site fell within the terms of our permit.
“We are carrying out further investigations into the external companies involved in this case and will be taking legal action against them if it can be proven that they knowingly took part.
“The increasing cost of landfill tax means that some unscrupulous companies are looking to dispose of their waste without paying landfill tax.
“Our message is very clear – we will not tolerate behaviour of this kind at any of our sites.”
Environment Agency spokeswoman Lyn Fraley said the organisation was monitoring the situation but added that at the moment it was being treated as an internal affair.
Exclusive by Wayne Beese
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I hope the companies who benefited from this are named and shamed and prosecuted?
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So now this waste will be fly-tipped!
What muppets the council are, they will now incur the cost of collecting this waste from laybys.
These workers deserved a commendation for their initiative – not the sack!
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What a waste ha!
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Lucy W said:
“What muppets the council are, they will now incur the cost of collecting this waste from laybys.
These workers deserved a commendation for their initiative – not the sack!”
Which council is that Lucy? – the article doesn’t mention any council, the site is run by a private company.
As for your closing comment, you have already told us once this week that you approve of criminal activity (when you claimed that you use red diesel in your car and don’t pay insurance and road tax).
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I agree everyone who takes money unlawfully should be sacked…
I wonder if this will apply to all the MP’s who overclaimed on expenses as well??
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Rob, get your facts right. I do pay insurance.
The Council give the licence to Sita, so its the same thing in my book.
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Lucy W said:
“Rob, get your facts right. I do pay insurance.
The Council give the licence to Sita, so its the same thing in my book.”
Lucy – if you have insurance it is invalid unless the vehicle is taxed and covered by a current, valid MoT certificate……and by law all motor insurers have to inform DVLA when a policy is issued.
As for your comment about SITA and the council it’s just plain nonsense, and you know it!
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Lucy W … but you do drive an un-MOT’d car.
Time to clean up your act. Stop encouraging lawlessness or at a minimum stop spouting about it in a public forum.
Your comment about fly-tipping is fair but that’s why we have a police force. Oh, that’s right, you think they’re a waste of space too.
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Better go to the library and get a new book – it’s nothing to do with the council. That’s like blaming the council because you bought a mouldy loaf at Tescos. And you can’t get car insurance without a valid MOT certificate.
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Lucy – get your facts right – the Council did not issue a licence to SITA. The EA did.
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Well its all the State, all the same thing.
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Kath: When did your car insurer request your MOT?
A valid MOT is not a condition of an insurance policy although it is a condition that you maintain the car to a roadworthy condition, regardless of MOT requirements – not the same thing.
Holding a valid driving licence is a condition, so a MOTed car driven by an unlicenced driver (or learner supervised by an unlicenced passenger) is not insured.
However there is no reason why an unlicenced driver can’t insure a car so that it will be covered in all events other than when driven by the insured. This would allow another licenced person to drive the car, where their policy allows them to drive any other car 3rd party with the condition that the other car has a valid insurance policy in place.
So how do you get an off-the-road car back on-the-road? First you insure it with no MOT, then drive it to the MOT test station, then get the road tax. You are insured.
If you think this is complicted, then don’t consider insuring abroad. My german pal insures a German car in Sweden after buying it in Germany for export to Denmark, then reimporting it to Germany after paying the lower tax in Denmark!
If ever sterling recovers, I will be considering the same.
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Quite possibly, but …
“In order to renew your road tax, you also need a valid MOT certificate (if your car is over 3 years old) and valid insurance. This is normally done by showing certificates at the post office, or can be checked on a computer if you renew online or on the phone.”
And are the council muppets if the trains don’t run on time or the weather forecast is wrong?
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Kath, we agree on something, you need MOT for Tax but you DO NOT need MOT for insurance to be valid (nor do you need ‘Road Tax’ for valid insurance).
All I know is its the Council who turned my friend away claiming that his domestic waste was commercial. Not sure what happened but I expect the council had to collect it themselves from a lay-by – muppets!
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Lucy W…
If you own a car over 3 year old and have not got a valid MOT certificate and are involved in an accident, your insurance is invalid. They would pay up to the third party involved but not to you.
Check the small print of your insurance policy!
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Telford, already have checked with insurers. Like I said, it is a condition to maintain my car to a roadworthy condition – an MOT does not come into it.
It may have an MOT but deteriorate to become unroadworthy. The MOT would make no difference,I would have breached my insurance contract by using an unroadworthy car. So the opposite applied, ie even of I don’t have an MOT, if the car is roadworthy then thats all the insurer wants to know.
If there is a defect, the defect must contribte to the accident. For example, if my rear lights didn’t work and I crashed into a tree, although the car is ‘unroadworthy’ it has no bearing on the accident and so the insurance is valid for that incident.
Otherwise, all an insurer would have to do is find a chip on a windscreen to suffice a MOT fail, a cracked number plate, dud bulb, ABS warning light on or suitable corrosion, play in bearings/ball joints etc etc, and then declare that they are not paying out as the terms of the contract have been breached.
An interesting point is that if you have an MOT, in law, it may not protect you from prosecution if a component failure (erroneously undetected by the tester) caused an accident.
May I suggest that you contact your insurers if you are having ny difficulty understanding the principle.
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Telford. My policy says otherwise, rinf your insurer if you are having difficulty.
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