The director of a Stockton firm has admitted trying to hide hazardous waste that the company was storing illegally.
Andrew Bainbridge told Environment Agency officers that the unit on the site at Bowesfield Crescent was locked and he didn’t have a key.
But further investigations showed the unit contained around 50 large drums and containers of waste with contents that did not match their labels.
His company, Auckland Environmental Services Ltd, admitted operating a waste storage operation without a permit at Teesside Magistrates' Court on Friday, and was fined £7,800 and ordered to pay £1,523 costs and £120 victim surcharge.
Bainbridge, 45, of Harsley Road, Stockton, also pleaded guilty to the same charge and was fined £520, plus £1,523 costs and £52 victim surcharge.
And Albaden Services Ltd, of Skippers Lane Industrial Estate, Middlesbrough, which admitted transporting some of the waste to the site, was fined £2,700, plus £1,523 costs and £120 victim surcharge.
Chris Bunting, prosecuting, said that when Environment Agency officers first visited the Bowesfield Crescent site they discovered waste including oily rags, paint tins and greases stored there.
The site did not have a permit in place which would have listed measures designed to protect the environment.
Further visits to the site revealed boxes of assorted wastes, a lorry loaded with oil and other hazardous substances, plus a drum of fluorescent lighting tubes – also classed as hazardous waste.
When interviewed, Bainbridge admitted attempting to mislead officers because the site was operating without a permit.
Albaden Services Ltd said it had been hired to provide haulage and had incorrectly assumed that it did not need to make checks about where the waste was being stored.
Environmental crime team leader David Edwardson said: “Waste crime can have a terrible impact on local communities and the environment and can also undermine legitimate business. This is why the law exists to ensure that waste operations are regulated and managed appropriately.
“Illegal waste sites often do not have the proper infrastructure required to protect the environment.”
Anyone who has information about waste crimes can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to report illegal activity.
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