Haulage company fined £109,000 for dumping waste

A haulage and site-clearance company in Devon has been fined £109,000 for dumping thousands of tonnes of soil and stone on farmland.

Under current legislation, farms are allowed to accept up to 1,000 tonnes of non-hazardous waste, including soil and stone, which is then commonly used to construct tracks and hard-standings. This practice does not require an environmental permit.

In this case, however, the haulage company, CC Haulage & Sons, had dumped more than 7,800 tonnes at the Beech Down Farm. More waste had been dumped at three other farms in Devon.

The offences were noticed after the Environment Agency examined waste-transfer notes that identified CC Haulage as the source of the excessive amounts of waste material. It was apparent that the company was benefiting financially by paying farmers less to accept the waste than it was charging its clients to take the material away.

The company was fined £14,000, ordered to pay costs of £5,000 and given a £90,000 Proceeds of Crime confiscation order, which it must pay back using the proceeds of its criminal activities.

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