A North East man who burned waste at his illegal waste site to avoid disposal costs has been sentenced.

George Charlton, 62, of Manor Way in Jarrow, appeared at Gateshead Magistrates’ Court for sentence on Wednesday 23 August after previously pleading guilty to flouting environmental law.

He was charged with operating a waste site without a permit at Reay Street, Bill Quay in Gateshead, and illegally burning waste at that site.

He was sentenced to an 18-month Community Order, 250 hours of unpaid work, a 30-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement, and ordered to pay costs of £750.

No environmental permit

Acting on behalf of the Environment Agency, solicitor Laura Taylor told the court that
Charlton collected waste from friends and relatives and took it to the site without registering as a waste carrier. He also had no environmental permit to store and sort the waste at the yard.

Environment Agency officers first visited the site on 4 April 2016 after they saw a cloud of smoke coming from the compound. On investigation they saw a pile of waste on fire and waste including furniture, beds, mattresses, wood and waste electrical items strewn across the site.

They spoke to George Charlton, who was on site, who said he was looking after it for his son. He became aggressive but the officers said the fire needed to be put out. Charlton extinguished the fire before leaving the area.

Further visits saw the waste still remained on site. On 4 July, the Environment Agency sent a letter to Charlton requesting that he stopped all waste activities on the site and cleared all waste by 15 August 2016.

On 24 August, the Environment Agency attended the site for an inspection together with Northumbria Police and officers from Gateshead Council.

Officers saw there were still large piles of mixed waste including household furniture, white goods, construction waste, garden rubbish and some scrap vehicles. There was also evidence of burning.

On 25 August Charlton was interviewed, where he confirmed his son was the legal owner of the site having been transferred through a solicitor, and that he had been looking after the yard since 2013.

He said he would attend the site around twice a week to check on it and deposit rubbish from friends and relatives. He said he would weigh in the scrap metal for money and cut up wood and other items to burn them.

Waste still present

Paul Whitehill, Environment Officer with the Environment Agency in the North East, said:

Charlton was warned to stop his operation and to clear waste from the site but on multiple visits it was clear a large amount of waste was still present.

On the site inspection, which took place on 24 August 2016, after he was supposed to have cleared the site completely, there was still a large quantity of mixed waste and evidence of burning.

Illegal waste activity such as this has a detrimental impact on the community and environment, as well as undermining legitimate businesses. We’ll continue to work hard to ensure enforcement action is taken against those who flout the law.

UK Ambassador John Dennis and the Angolan NGO MBAKITA’s Director Pascoal Baptistiny signed the project contract that will contribute to reducing the illegal trade in endangered species, fauna and flora in the Cuando Cubango province over the next 8 months.

This project will facilitate and promote environmental education as well as sustainable agricultural practices in the communities of Menongue, Calai, Cuangar and Dirico. The project expects to reach 500 people in urban and rural areas of Cuando Cubango and help preserve the province’s wildlife and natural resources.

The UK government is committed to tackling illegal wildlife trade, a global criminal industry worth more than £6 billion each year threatening both wildlife and people. Our focus is on improving enforcement, reducing demand for products and supporting sustainable livelihoods and economic development in the communities affected.

Further information

Cuando Cubango, Angola’s most south-eastern province has an area of 199,049 km2 of which 80% is covered by forests. It is the second largest province in Angola and holds 40% of the country’s water resources, including three navigable rivers (Cubango, Cuando and Cuíto). The province has borders with Zambia and Namibia and is home to most of Angola’s elephant population, as well as an abundance of other wildlife.