Fourth man sentenced for illegal Lincolnshire waste site
West Yorkshire man gets director ban after unlawful business that saw sons jailed.
Waste continued to be brought onto a waste site near a busy road, despite warnings for it to stop
A fourth man operating from a Skegness waste site has been sentenced following an investigation by the Environment Agency.
Michael Todd was sentenced on 25 May following that of three other men earlier that month.
Between June 2015 and April 2017, Thomas Todd, Jamie Todd, Bryan Walker and Michael Todd managed businesses operating from the former Bowman’s site, in Lincolnshire, near the A52.
On 8 June 2015, the site’s environmental permit was transferred to East Coast Recycling Properties Ltd., which was run by Michael Todd’s sons, Jamie and Thomas Todd. This permit allowed for the processing of mixed waste with a view to extracting recyclable materials.
The Environment Agency began to conduct inspections at the site shortly afterwards and quickly found failings. The site’s permit required a fire-prevention plan to be in place to avoid a serious blaze and protect the environment. This was especially important as the site was surrounded by arable land and the nearest residential premises were only 10m away. However, the Todd brothers failed to have such a plan in place leaving the site at risk.
Inspections found that waste was being stacked too high and too closely together, creating a fire-risk. The waste had also become a health-risk following an influx of mice and a problem with flies. As a result, the Environment Agency suspended the site’s permit, stopping new material from being brought in between December 2015 and February 2016.
Waste on site presented fire risk
Further visits by Environment Agency officers between March and May 2016 found that there were no firebreaks between the waste. This meant the waste stored on the site continued to present a huge fire-risk. The company’s permit was suspended again in July 2016.
In July 2016, a new company Eco Green Logistics Limited, registered an exemption to start waste work on another section of the Bowman’s site. Bryan Walker was the registered director of this company. He also allowed too much waste into his section of the site leading to waste being stored unsafely and presenting a fire-risk.
The Environment Agency was reassured that waste would no longer be brought onto Bowman’s and instead the land would be redeveloped. However, the Environment Agency continued to find evidence of new waste being brought onto the land. A company, of which Michael Todd was the director, was brought in to provide on-site security and to remove waste from the site.
The environmental permit for the site was revoked fully in March 2017 and the businesses were ordered to clear the site fully. The site was later searched under warrant where evidence was found to show waste moving on and off the site despite the restrictions put in place by the Environment Agency.
Amongst this evidence was a diary owned by Michael Todd. The diary highlighted a day when waste could not be brought onto site because of a visit by Environment Agency officers. This demonstrated that Todd knew that waste couldn’t be brought onto site and was trying to avoid Environment Agency-imposed restrictions.
Actions were ‘reckless’
Jamie and Thomas Todd and Bryan Walker were all sentenced at Leeds crown court on 19 May 2023.
Michael Todd, 65, of Leeds Road, Barwick-in-Elmet, West Yorkshire, appeared at Leeds crown court on 25 May. He pleaded guilty to two counts.
He was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 100 hours of unpaid work. He was also disqualified from acting a company director for 5 years.
Speaking at the case, judge Simon Batiste said that Michael Todd had been “reckless” rather than deliberate. He added that it was “evident” that Michael Todd had removed and imported “significant numbers of loads of waste” to and from the site.
Jamie Todd, Thomas Todd and Michael Todd will return to court later this year in relation to a Proceeds of Crime Act enquiry.
Illegal waste activity taken ‘very seriously’
Yvonne Daly, an environment manager at the Environment Agency, said:
Waste crime is serious because it causes widespread and significant harm: to people, places, the economy, to law and order, and to the environment.
Any breaches of environmental permits and illegal waste activity are taken very seriously. We will take the necessary action to disrupt criminal activity and prosecute those responsible.
We support businesses trying to do the right thing and genuinely comply, but we will issue enforcement notices, and use our regulatory powers when appropriate.
The defendants were told to remove waste and ensure safety on the site on numerous occasions but failed to do so.
Anyone with suspicions of waste crime can call our incident hotline, 0800 807060, or Crimestoppers, on 0800 555111.
Charges against Michael Todd:
- Permitting the deposit of waste not in accordance with a permit, contrary to section 33(1)(a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
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Failure to comply with a notice, contrary to section 157 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
- A full press release regarding Jamie and Thomas Todd and Bryan Walker can be found here: 2 jailed for illegal Lincolnshire waste site - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)