A Welsh T8 tyre recycler has been found guilty of breaching his permit and has paid the price for abusing the exemption
The T8 opersator benefited significantly financially as they hadn’t paid to dispose of their waste properly.
The Powys company and its director have been ordered to pay £69,000 in fines and costs for serious breaches of environmental regulations. Benji and Co Limited and its director Peter Rees appeared at Welshpool Magistrates’ Court having illegally dumped tyres at several sites in the region.
The company was fined £10,000 for each of four offences, to which the company pleaded guilty. The company was also ordered to pay £15,000 in prosecution costs.
The court heard how between January and June 2022 Benji and Co Limited operated a waste site without the required environmental permit at Gwern Tyddyn, Llanidloes, storing and treating tyres unlawfully.
In 2022 the company dumped baled tyres at Newhouse Farm in Aberhafesp, Rhossllyn in Nantmel, and Llys Fynydd in Llanidloes, without a valid permit, breaching the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 and the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) officers investigating the site found large volumes of waste tyres, baled and loose, stored in dangerous conditions. The volumes exceeded those allowed under both the T8 and U2 exemptions.
NRW said Benji and Co Limited gained financially by avoiding the costs of proper waste management, including permit fees and compliance with safety standards.
The company was found guilty by the Magistrates and fined £10,000 per offence and the director Peter Rees received further penalties.
Rees was fined £10,000 for his part in the crimes. Rees pled guilty to consenting to, being complicit in, or neglecting his duties in connection with the company’s unlawful activity between January and June 2022. Both the company and Rees were required to pay a £2,000 victim surcharge each.
Jeremy Goddard, team leader for the waste and enforcement team for mid Wales for NRW, said; “This case highlights the importance of following environmental rules. Permits and exemptions exist to protect people, nature and the wider environment.
“Ignoring them puts communities and the environment at risk and undermines the integrity of the waste management system. We will always take action where we find serious non-compliance. The prosecution reflects NRW’s commitment to tackling illegal waste activity and holding those responsible to account.”
