Man fined for illegally burying 5,000 TONNES of waste at Shropshire farm

Ivor David John Powell, 65, was fined £1,000 after pleading guilty to burying 5,335 tonnes of the mixed waste at Lower Aston Farm, Claverley.

The Environment Agency, which brought the prosecution, said that the cost of legally disposing of the waste would have been more than £500,000.

Mitigating, Powell's solicitor told Wolverhampton Crown Court he had been naive and had no previous convictions.

The case was heard on April 19 and Powell of Lower Aston Farm, Claverley, was also ordered to pay £4,000 costs and a £100 victim surcharge.

The court has also told him to clear the site within three years.

The charges were brought by the Environment Agency contrary to regulations 12(1)(a) and 38(1)(a) Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.

Environment Agency officers said they had discovered the situation during a routine inspection on November 11, 2015.

While there they saw a tractor operating on the land that appeared to be levelling the ground.

The officers said they also saw large heaps of shredded mixed waste and noticed the land had been landscaped to incorporate the waste material, which Mr Powell confirmed had been coming onto the site for four months.

Environment Agency officers visited the site again in March 2016 and found buried compressed waste that had been imported on to the site.

The court heard that Mr Powell had avoided paying charges to dispose of the 5,335 tonnes of waste.

If he had taken the waste to an appropriate waste site or landfill, it would have cost around £533,500 to dispose of.

Speaking after the case, the Environment Agency officer in charge of the investigation said: "Waste crime is a serious offence with tough penalties as it can damage the environment, blight communities and undermine those operating legally. This case sends out a clear message that we will not hesitate to take action against anyone that fails to comply."