£113,500 in fines for seven companies prosecuted over illegal handling of asbestos.
A contracting company has become the latest to fall foul of an asbestos abatement crackdown by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) into a site in South Lanarkshire. Doonin Plant Limited pleaded guilty last year to disposing of controlled waste in a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health.
“The company was disposing of a large amount of waste and showing scant regard for the legislation designed to protect human health and the environment. In addition to the serious potential damage to the environment, offences like this take business away from legitimate companies which ensure waste is treated appropriately and all appropriate licences are in place,” says Tom Inglis, SEPA’s acting director of operations. “Waste offences in Scotland are a problem, and one that SEPA is determined to tackle through operations such as this. The operation that brought these seven companies to court is one example of the kind of work we are doing, as is our work to reduce the number of fly-tipped tyres in the West of Scotland, which is already showing good results.”
“SEPA aims to be a firm but fair regulator, working with people to ensure they understand the regulations that apply to them, and simplifying the system where we can. The flipside of this “better regulation” approach is that when prosecutions are necessary, the fine levels must operate as a real deterrent. I therefore welcome the decision in this case, and note the comment made by Their Lordships, that a fine in a case such as this should be large enough to ‘bring the message home’ to companies that ‘the statutory provisions designed to protect our environment must be taken seriously,” adds SEPA chief executive Campbell Gemmell. “We will continue, through our close working relationship with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and indeed with the Police and other partners as necessary, to ensure that environmental crime is dealt with in a robust manner in accordance with our Enforcement Policy.”
Five other companies also pled guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court, on various dates, to depositing controlled waste on the site when no waste management licence was in force:
* C.E.P. Demolitions Limited – fined £7,500 on 29 September 2009.
* JCJ (Demolition and Construction) Limited – fined £2,500 on 15 February 2010.
* George Hunter (Demolishers) Limited – fined £6,000 on 4 March 2010.
* E. Nicholson & Sons (Metals) Limited – fined £2,250 on 16 March 2010.
* St Andrews Demolition & Construction Limited – fined £2,250 on 16 March 2010.
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