A Scottish sole trader has been fined £40,000 and ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work for illegally storing waste tyres.
Alistair Marshall, trading as A. M. Transport, was sentenced at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in March after pleading guilty to depositing and keeping waste tyres on his site at Fenton Barns and another site near Macmerry, without the required Waste Management Licence.
The case was investigated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and a report was sent to the Procurator Fiscal.
Marshall pleaded guilty at the intermediate diet last September and the sheriff deferred sentence for a period of time.
Marshall first came to the attention of SEPA officers in April 2013 when they initially attended his site at Annfield Farm.
At that time, he was allowed to have 1,000 tyres but had greatly exceeded that amount.
Later that year, Marshall made enquiries about licensing requirements for storing waste tyres and was advised by SEPA that he would require a Waste Management Licence.
In September 2015, SEPA became aware of Marshall storing tyres at another site in Fenton Barns.
Upon investigation, SEPA established that Marshall had been depositing and storing tyres there since 2010.
There were estimated to be between 65,000 and 75,000 tyres stored at the site.
SEPA attempted to work with Marshall but, despite verbal and written requests for the site to be cleared, he did not comply.
An enforcement notice was served to force him to remove the tyres and he was allowed time to do so.
Marshall did not comply and the only option SEPA had was to report the case to the Procurator Fiscal.
Terry A’Hearn, SEPA’s chief executive, said: “Under SEPA’s One Planet Prosperity regulatory strategy, we make crystal clear that everybody must meet Scotland’s environmental laws.
“Compliance is non-negotiable.
“We have a good track record of compliance in Scotland but unfortunately we do have some people and businesses that occasionally don’t meet those standards.
“When that’s the case, it’s SEPA’s job to make sure such people are held to account.
“We see it as a message to everybody operating in Scotland that, if you don’t take care of the environment, if you don’t pay attention to your environmental responsibilities, SEPA is here to make sure that action will be taken.
“We encourage you to make sure you understand your obligations and carry out your environmental responsibilities in full compliance with the law”.
