A COMPANY which illegally kept and disposed of controlled waste products has been fined £30,000.

The Environment Agency prosecuted Russell Surfacing Limited for illegally keeping, treating and disposing of controlled waste at Detling Aerodrome Industrial Estate, Detling, near Maidstone, after it failed to take notice of warnings.

Company director Robert Russell was also prosecuted personally for allowing the disposing and burning of waste at the site.

Russell and the company pleaded guilty to the offences when they appeared before Maidstone Crown Court.

Russell was fined £6,000 and the company was fined £6,000 per offence, a total of £30,000. They were also ordered to pay costs of £7,300 to the Environment Agency.

The court heard that on February 16, 2004, agency officers contacted Russell Surfacing after discovering waste construction material had been deposited at the aerodrome industrial estate.

The company was informed that although it held a waste management exemption, the construction waste dumped at the site was not covered and should be moved to a licensed site.

Under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act, it is an offence to deposit, keep, treat or dispose of controlled waste unless in possession of a sufficient licence issued by the Environment Agency. A waste management licence sets conditions on how a site should be operated.

Russell Surfacing was contacted again on November 12, 2004, after a site visit revealed that it had also been burning The company failed to act on agency instructions and further site visits throughout 2005 revealed that waste construction material was still being stored, treated and burnt on site.

After the court hearing, Paul Bennett, from the Environment Agency, said: “It’s essential that severe penalties are imposed on companies or individuals who commit waste crimes to ensure they are an effective deterrent.”

Waste crimes were irresponsible and anti-social. “We take all reports of these crimes extremely seriously and will not hesitate to undertake detailed investigations of those sites where we suspect offences are being committed,” added Mr Bennett.