A West Dorset haulage firm has been ordered to pay more than £24,000 after pleading guilty to dumping thousands of tonnes of soil and stones at two farms in Devon.

South West Tippers Ltd, of Charmouth, was ordered to pay £16,500 under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £2,740 in costs.

Representing the company, director Allan Elmes admitted breaching U1 Use of Waste in Construction exemptions at Challenger Farm and Park Farm, Axminster. The company was sentenced at Exeter Crown Court on Thursday, 31st May.

Investigations revealed 130 loads totalling 2,500 tonnes of stones and soil had been deposited at Challenger Farm, while 198 loads totalling 3,870 tonnes were made at Park Farm.  The limit for use of this type of waste at a U1 exemption is 1,000 tonnes.

The company had also been sent a Formal Warning Letter for a lesser breach at Glanville Farm, Honiton earlier in 2017 in which these limits had been explained.  

Richard Cloke, of the Environment Agency’s enforcement team, said: “We welcome the sentence. These were serious breaches of regulations.

“The actions of South West Tippers and those who similarly break the law threaten to undermine legitimate waste businesses, presenting a threat to the environment.”

To aid waste and construction businesses, U1 exemptions were developed to allow for specified quantities of suitable waste materials to be used for the purposes of certain construction work, without the need to obtain an environmental permit. 

Repeated abuses of the exemption rules could result in the exemption being removed altogether, putting an additional burden on legitimate businesses which may then need to seek a permit in future instead.

 “This successful prosecution is the latest in a series of activity targeting this type of activity brought by the Environment Agency and demonstrates our determination to bring offenders to book,” added Mr Cloke.

South West Tippers Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching regulations 12 and 38(1) (a) Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 at Challenger Farm, between 6 June and July 27, 2017, and the same regulations at Park Farm, also between 6 June and 27 July, 2017.