A Powys-based company and its director have been ordered to pay £69,000 in fines and costs after being found guilty of serious breaches of environmental law.
The case centred on the unlawful operation of a waste site and the illegal disposal of waste tyres at multiple locations across Powys.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said the offences posed a risk to the local environment and undermined legitimate waste businesses operating within the law.
Between January and June 2022, Benji and Co Limited and its director, Peter Rees, stored and treated tyres without the required environmental permit at Gwern Tyddyn, Llanidloes.
While between March and December 2022, baled tyres were deposited on land at Newhouse Farm in Aberhafesp, Rhossllyn in Nantmel, and Llys Fynydd in Llanidloes, without a valid permit.
NRW says officers observed more than 200 tyre bales, over 1,000 loose tyres, and an estimated 40 tonnes of shredded tyre waste at the site, which posed a ‘significant fire risk’.
Benji and Co Limited and Peter Rees were sentenced at Welshpool Magistrates’ Court after previously pleading guilty.
The company was fined £10,000 for each of four offences, totalling £40,000. It was also ordered to pay £15,000 in prosecution costs.
Peter Rees was fined £10,000 for his role in the offences after pleading guilty to consenting to, being complicit in, or neglecting his duties in connection with the company’s unlawful activity between January and June 2022. Both the company and Rees were required to pay a £2,000 victim surcharge each.
Commenting on the sentencing, Jeremy Goddard, team leader for the waste and enforcement team, mid Wales, of NRW, said: “This case highlights the importance of following environmental rules. Permits and exemptions exist to protect people, nature and the wider environment.”
“Ignoring them puts communities and the environment at risk and undermines the integrity of the waste management system. We will always take action where we find serious non-compliance.”