Kilmarnock farming business fined for waste offences
Written by Kevin Rennie on September 4, 2013
An East Ayrshire business was fined a total of £2,250 at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week (29 August 2013) after dumping waste on farmland, east of Thorntoun Bridge, Springside.
The firm of H&M Craig, was fined £750 after pleading guilty to depositing controlled waste on the site. Mr John Craig, a partner of the firm, was also fined £1,500 after pleading guilty to keeping waste without a licence and disposing of waste by burning and burying.
On 3 April 2012 a Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) Officer carried out a site inspection at land east of Springside adjacent to the B7081 Kilmarnock Road, in response to a complaint reporting the burning of waste.
SEPA confirmed the burning and also found large volumes of waste at the location and informed Mr Craig that he could not burn any more material or deposit any more waste on the land. SEPA subsequently issued a statutory notice requiring the firm to take steps to minimise the environmental consequences of the waste, which was complied with.
Andrew McMullan, SEPA’s investigating officer, said:
“The burning of wastes, such as plastics, tyres etc, can give off toxic chemicals which can pollute the environment and harm human health. SEPA would never issue a licence for the disposal of these wastes by burning in this way as it is environmentally unacceptable in all circumstances.
“By operating illegally and failing to incur the costs of complying with the law, H&M Craig has also had an unfair commercial advantage over farmers and other businesses which have taken all the necessary steps to keep, treat and dispose of their waste legally.
“SEPA has provided verbal and written advice to John Craig over a long period of time in relation to the waste types that might legally be deposited at the site. We work with individuals and companies to ensure that they understand their environmental responsibilities, but we must take appropriate enforcement action, including reporting cases to the Procurator Fiscal, where necessary.”
