Fletcher Plant Limited: Sheffield skip hire firm to pay £170,000 for dumping waste at illegal site
A waste firm in Sheffield has been ordered to pay huge sums after being found guilty of dumping waste at an illegal site in Lincolnshire.
In June 2024, Fletcher Plant Limited was found guilty after a trial in connection with the dumping of 1,400 tonnes of controlled waste at a site on Fen Lane, in the Long Bennington area of Lincolnshire.
The waste was dumped between October 2019, and May 2020, and resulted in the Clement Street-based firm in Darnall being charged.
Following an eight week trial, the company was found guilty for its involvement.
The court was told that intelligence gathered revealed lorry-loads of shredded waste were regularly being accepted onto the site, which was the size of a football pitch.
And while the judge did accept that the company did not know the site was being operated illegally, it was argued that the company had a legal requirement to carry out a duty of care.
On August 8, at Nottingham Crown Court, the company was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay costs of £50,000. It was also made the subject of a £37,587.13. confiscation order - meaning the company must pay £167,587.13.
The illegal dumping came to light following an investigation by the Environment Agency, named Operation Lord, which saw officers from government organisation spend months gathering evidence about the illegal waste site.
Fletcher Plant said it had built a good reputation and it was the first time it had been prosecuted in over 40 years. A new management team had also been put in place, the firm added.
In addition to the firm being prosecuted, the investigation has resulted in 11 people involved in the management of the illegal site being sentenced to a total of 14 years' imprisonment.
They have also been ordered to remove the waste that has already been dumped by September this year, which is estimated to cost £2.5 million.
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Peter Stark, enforcement team leader for the Environment Agency in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, said: “This sentence shows that all businesses involved in the removal of controlled waste must make all reasonable checks to ensure that waste is being dealt with appropriately and not illegally.
“If simple and continued due diligence checks had been made by Fletcher Plant they would have flagged up that the site operators did not have the appropriate authorisations. Due diligence checks are not something that should only occur prior to starting a contract, they should occur regularly during a contract. The duty of care in relation to waste is a legal requirement under Environmental Protection Act 1990.
“Anyone who suspects illegal waste activity should report it to our 24-hour hotline on 0800 80 70 60, or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
Editor’s note:
None of the 11 individuals sentenced over the illegal site operating in Lincolnshire had any connection to Fletcher Plant Limited.
We apologise for any suggestion in any previous report that there was any such link.