Derek Mollison, who trades as Mollison Construction, has been fined £4,000 after pleading guilty to charges relating to the illegal transport and disposal of waste, and failing to ensure the waste was passed to an appropriate person.
In addition, Alistair Roy has been sentenced to a 200-hour community payback order and a £2,500 Confiscation Order after pleading guilty to two charges relating to waste that was deposited, kept and burnt on a site he owns near Blairgowrie.
The offences took place at the site of a partially completed house just outside Blairgowrie, known as Winterpark. The mixed waste was made up of soil and stones, plastic items, wood, tree roots and stumps, metal, gravel, bricks, concrete, tiles, ceramics, plasterboard, garden waste, insulation, clothing, glass, cardboard, electrical goods, furniture, asbestos sheeting and tarmac. Mr Roy did not have a waste management licence for the site which would allow such waste to be kept there.
Officers from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) estimated in the region of 30 tonnes of waste was present, though it is difficult to be precise as some waste has been buried or blended into the profile of the land. While some waste was stored in piles, some of it was buried on site and some was tipped directly into a tributary of the Lunan Burn, which flows into the River Tay. A large quantity (approximately 10 tonnes) of mixed waste was also burned on site by Mr Roy.
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Despite several requests from SEPA, Mr Roy permitted others to deposit waste at the site and failed to secure it to prevent the further deposit of controlled waste by others. The waste remains on site.
SEPA said Mr Mollison was reported to the Procurator Fiscal for transporting waste as part of his business without being a Registered Carrier of Waste. SEPA assesses all waste carrier registrations to ensure they are granted to a "fit and proper person" and under what is known as Duty of Care, Mr Mollison was supposed to ensure waste he produced as part of renovation of a property in Alyth was kept secure and only given to someone authorised to accept it. He failed to do this and the waste ended up being deposited at Winterpark.
Calum McGregor, SEPA's investigating officer, said: "Mr Roy was essentially running Winterpark as an illegal landfill site and waste transfer station. A legal facility would have authorisation from SEPA to ensure protection of the environment, including requirements for containment of potentially harmful emissions to the environment, site security, controls over the type of waste accepted and protection of any nearby watercourses. None of these were in place at Winterpark. In addition, SEPA would never have permitted the waste to be burnt in an open bonfire.
"At the time of the offence Mr Mollison should have been registered with SEPA as a Carrier of Waste. Regulating the transport of waste is essential to ensure that waste is taken to an appropriate disposal or treatment site and to prevent flytipping.
"We hope this case is also a reminder to anyone who entrusts their waste to others. You have a duty of care too – you must ensure your waste only goes to a carrier that is appropriately registered."
Terry A'Hearn, SEPA's Chief Executive, said: "We hope this successful prosecution sends a strong message to everybody operating in Scotland. SEPA is here to make sure that action will be taken if you don't pay attention to your environmental responsibilities."
(LM/MH)
