A Somerset company has been ordered to pay more than £13,000 in fines and costs for polluting a river with waste ink.

A Somerset company has been ordered to pay more than £13,000 in fines and costs for polluting a river with waste ink.

The case was brought by the Environment Agency.

On 20 April 2017 the Environment Agency received reports that the River Yeo had turned purple downstream of the Pen Mill Trading Estate, Yeovil. Concerned members of the public reported discolouration up to 4 kilometres downstream of the industrial estate.

Environment Agency staff traced the source of the pollution to Ablebox Ltd, a local company manufacturing cardboard boxes and operating its own printing works at a premises in Buckland Road, Yeovil.

The next day officers returned to the premises and saw waste ink being hosed into a drain. They also found inappropriately stored containers of waste ink and spill kits already full of soiled absorbents. Dye testing confirmed the waste ink had flowed through the site’s surface water system and directly into the River Yeo via a surface water outfall.

An employee was later found to have poured up to 50 buckets of waste ink down a drain over a 2 to 3 day period. He stated he’d done so on the instruction of management because there was no room left in the waste ink storage containers. Ablebox Ltd claimed the employee had taken it upon himself to dispose of the ink without the company’s knowledge.

Magistrates heard that Wessex Water had previously detected unauthorised discharges in the sewerage system and that Ablebox Ltd had been told they were improperly disposing of waste ink through the drain and sewers on at least two occasions. The company blamed the illegal discharges on one of their employees.

Oliver Hill, for the Environment Agency, said:

Businesses must never pour any waste down surface water drains as they are often connected to nearby streams or rivers. By disposing of waste in this way you are committing a criminal offence. This prosecution serves as a timely reminder for businesses to act responsibly. Where we have evidence, we won’t hestitate to prosecute offenders.

Appearing before Yeovil magistrates, the company was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £1,281 legal costs after pleading guilty to causing or knowingly permitting a discharge of noxious or polluting matter into a controlled watercourse contrary to section 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting Regulations.

The company was also ordered to pay investigation costs of £5,566 and a victim surcharge of £170. The case was heard on 7 November 2018.

People and faith groups urged to reach out to one another and build local networks to support their communities and to bridge divides and extend understanding.

Faith Minister, Lord Bourne today (14 November 2018) urged people and faith groups across the country to reach out to one another and build local networks to support their communities and to bridge divides and extend understanding.

The call came as the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published a new report to mark Inter Faith Week, championing the role faith groups play in their communities and highlighting the valuable inter faith work taking place around the country.

The report, Belief in communities: bridging the divide, follows the Minister for Faith, Lord Bourne’s second national faith tour, which saw him visit places of worship around the country to better understand their role bringing people of different faiths and backgrounds together.

From Holy Island in Northumberland to Canvey Island in Essex, Lord Bourne travelled far and wide to witness the work many religious institutions do alongside other faith groups from their communities to support the most vulnerable, help make their areas safer and cleaner, and tackle social issue such as loneliness.

Minister for Faith Lord Bourne said:

Over the past year I have travelled across the country meeting many religious communities, which have established hugely impressive interfaith networks, where religious groups come together to bridge divides and raise awareness.

As we mark Inter Faith Week, there is no better time to celebrate faith groups around the country who are making a profound impact on their communities, and to encourage people of all faiths to support and lead inter faith activity in their area.

The report details how inter faith networks can encourage social mixing and play a key role in building strong, resilient communities. Reflecting on this evidence, Lord Bourne issued a call for individuals and religious institutions around the country to:

• recognise the valuable contribution of faith and belief institutions
• remain open to understanding those of other faiths and beliefs within your community
• reach and establish partnerships with other organisations
• encourage your faith institutions to join a local interfaith network
• establish interfaith networks in those areas where they don’t already exist

Read the full report, Belief in communities: bridging the divide.

To see where Lord Bourne visited use #FaithTour2 on Twitter.

Lord Bourne visited approximately 55 places of worship/faith projects during Faith Tour 2 – see below for a full list.

Islamic

• London – Muslim Association of Nigeria (MANUK)
• North West – Khirza Mosque
• North East – Razia Jamia Mosque
• North East – Abu Bakr Mosque and Community Centre
• West Midlands – Bahu Trust
• West Midlands – Abrahamic Foundation
• Luton – Ali-Hira Centre
• Luton – Al-Hikmah School Madrasahs Bury Park site
• Leicester – Baitul Ikram Mosque
• Leicester – Masjid al Husayn
• North West – Islamic High School for Girls

Multifaith

• Manchester Multifaith Centre
• Bristol Cathedral (Multifaith)
• Solihull Faith Forum
• Birmingham Council of Faiths

Hindu

• Hindu Cultural Society of Bradford
• Manchester – Gita Bhavan Hindu Temple
• Luton – Hindu Mandir
• Leicester – BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

Jewish

• Kent – Moses Montefiore Synagogue and Mausoleum
• London – Bevis Marks Synagogue
• Manchester – Jewish Museum
• Canvey Island
• Bristol and West Progressive
• Progressive Synagogue Newcastle
• Luton United Synagogue

Church of England

Sikh

• Manchester – Sikh Gurdwara
• West Mids – Sikh Council UK
• Luton – Sikh Temple

Other Christian

• Kent – Greek Orthodox Church and Community
• Hull – Seventh-Day Adventist Church
• Essex – Mountain of God, Calvary Church of God in Christ
• Bristo l- Methodist New Room
• Bath Moravian Church
• Lindisfarne Priory / The Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin/ St.Cuthbert’s Centre / St.Aidan’s Roman Catholic Church
• West Midlands – Lozells Methodist Centre & Church
• London – Newington Green Unitarian Church
• London – Oasis Church and Hub (Baptist)

Krishna

• West Midlands – Shree Krishna Temple

Faith Projects

• Bradford – Thornbury centre
• Bradford – Anchor Project (Near Neighbours)
• North East – The Holy Biscuit
• Open Door North East

Other

• Kent – Global Generation Church
• Manchester – Chinese Buddhist Temple
• Kent – Shrine of St Augustine
• Luton – Roma Church
• Leicester – Jain Centre
• Leicester – Bahá’í Community
• North Lincolnshire Museum (Gypsy/Roma Roundtable)
• Wilberforce House Museum
• London – Green Room St Mungos
• Kent – Global Generation Church