Waste-management firm fined for unlicensed disposal of waste

CMI Demolition Ltd receive £16,000 fine for failing to ensure legal disposal of waste

GLASGOW-based CMI Demolition have been fined £16,000 after they allowed unlicensed contractors to transport and dispose of waste materials produced from their waste transfer station, over a four month period in 2011.

Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, waste-management companies have a legal duty of care to ensure that all operators who transport waste on behalf of the company are licensed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) as legitimate waste carriers.

Each producer of waste is also required to provide accurate Waste Transfer Notes as evidence of what type of waste it is, where waste materials are taken to, when and by who, to ensure waste is disposed of correctly and deter the potential for illegal dumping.

SEPA was alerted to the breach in regulation following a prolonged investigation into the discovery of illegally dumped waste at a site on Avonhead Road near Longriggend, in North Lanarkshire.

Official documents – which were salvaged from the waste stockpiles – allowed SEPA officers to trace the original owners of the refuse, who subsequently identified CMI Demolition Ltd as their waste-management provider.

While the illegal activities did not directly involve CMI Demolition, the company is still liable to enforcement action for failing to carry out adequate background checks, provide accurate waste transfer documentation and ensuring waste produced from their transfer station was disposed of correctly.

A SEPA spokeswoman said: ‘It is critically important that waste-management companies ensure their contractors are fully licensed and credible operators to transport their waste materials. Giving business to unlicensed groups or individuals is not only illegal; it undercuts legitimate waste carriers and impacts on the wider industry as a whole.

‘While the unravelling of this case has been a long process, involving a number of different companies and individuals from the waste industry, I hope the sentence handed down today serves as an important reminder that the price of non-compliance far outweighs the effort it takes to operate legitimately.’

Due to the early acceptance of responsibility and cooperation by CMI Demolition, the sentence was reduced from £24,000 to £16,000.