Wokingham

A man fined £12,000 last year for running a waste transfer station without a licence has now been jailed for refusing to stop the illegal Wokingham activities.

Richard Spencer had initially denied taking new waste material onto his site in Finchampstead, Wokingham, after the court case in April 2004. But Environment Agency officers said material found on the site in June 2004 had been brought in after Mr Spencer's conviction.

Hopefully the quality of life of people living close to Mr Spencer's premises will improve as a result of this conviction.
- Martin Sawyer, Environment Agency Mr Spencer, of Eversley, Hampshire, was jailed for 24 weeks under the Environmental Protection Act after changing his plea to guilty mid-trial.

The court heard that the Finchampstead, Wokingham site, on which Mr Spencer's company Arborfield Waste Management Services operated, was located in an Area of Special Landscape Importance.

Environment Agency officers observed that about 2,000 cubic metres of material had been illegally deposited on the Wokingham site, which they estimated could have represented as much as £43,000 in income for Mr Spencer.

The court was also told that the site did not have the necessary infrastructure, including proper drainage, to process the waste without causing a risk to the environment. The Wokingham site also had no planning permission for the activities being carried out.

Martin Sawyer, investigating officer for the Agency, said: "Hopefully the quality of life of people living close to Mr Spencer's premises will improve as a result of this conviction. One of our priorities is to protect the environment against problems caused by illegal waste transfer stations.

He added: "We will continue to enforce the law in this area in order to create a level playing field for those involved in the waste industry who make every effort to comply with the regulations."

letsrecycle.com 08.11.05