By Eric King-
A man from Hull has been ordered to pay £2,512 after pleading guilty to illegally transporting waste.
Daley Smith (54), also known as Daily Smith of Bankside Park, Bankside, Hull, was sentenced at Grimsby Magistrates’ Court on Friday 13 March following a successful prosecution by the Environment Agency.
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Smith was found to have illegally transported scrap metal without possessing the requisite Waste Carrier Licence and was fined £800. He was also ordered to pay costs of £1,632 and a victim surcharge of £80. A licence would have cost just £154.
Anyone caught transporting waste as part of their business, whether it is their waste or someone else’s, must have a Waste Carrier Licence.
The investigation into this case involved the Environment Agency working in partnership with Humberside Police, DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) and Highways England in a multi-agency operation targeting road crime in Humberside.
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Smith was stopped by police on 2 August 2019 on Reservoir Road in Hull whilst driving a Ford Transit vehicle. On inspecting the vehicle, Environment Agency officers found that it was carrying waste material comprising scrap domestic white goods including washing machines.
Smith told Environment Agency officers that he had picked the waste up from the street. He did not have a Waste Carrier’s Licence but claimed that he did not need one as collecting waste from the street was a civic duty. He would not disclose where he planned to take the waste.
Subsequent investigations identified that the waste had been taken to a recycling centre in Hull. The recycling centre confirmed that Smith had weighed in the scrap metal at their site on 2 August following his stop. They also confirmed that Smith’s account had been used on 62 occasions between 2 August 2019 and 21January 2020 during which time he had weighed in nearly 50 tonnes of scrap metal and received £5,887 in payment.
Speaking after the case, Iain Regan, Waste Regulatory Specialist at the Environment Agency, said:
”Waste crime undermines legitimate businesses and can have significant detrimental impacts on communities and the environment.
This case sends out a strong message and demonstrates how seriously we take waste crime. We’ll continue to take action against rogue operators trying to circumnavigate environmental law for their own financial gain.
Those transporting waste, including scrap metal, must possess a Waste Carrier’s Licence. We urge households and businesses to check that anyone they employ to remove waste material is a licensed waste carrier and to ensure that any waste they produce will be properly and legally managed”.
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