A former teacher who filled two quarries in Hertfordshire with illegal waste has been ordered to pay £78,835 following a proceeds of crime investigation.
Liam Winters was previously sentenced to 17 months in prison for dumping the waste illegally at the two sites and a nearby shooting ground. He was prosecuted alongside his brother who was given a 12-month sentence, suspended for 2 years.
Liam Winters was found to have presided over the illegal disposal of assorted rubbish at Codicote Quarry, near Stevenage.
An investigation by the Environment Agency found approximately 200,000 cubic metres of household, commercial and industrial waste, as well as electrical items, car parts, furniture, food packaging, wood and metal, at the site.
Winters also ignored the Environment Agency’s instructions to stop filling Anstey Quarry with banned waste, such as plastic, wood, metal and packaging, which were all broken into small pieces. The Environment Agency said waste was piled as high as 20 metres at Anstey.
Winters was a director of The Anstey Quarry Company Ltd, which leased the quarry. The company had a permit from the Environment Agency to treat and dispose of up to 10,000 cubic metres of clean soil waste a year.
Investigators estimated that as many as 250,000 cubic metres of harmful biodegradable materials were buried there.
The £78,835 Winters was ordered to pay will be split between His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service and the Environment Agency. Winters could face two more years in prison if he doesn’t pay within 3 months.
Barry Russell, environment manager for the Environment Agency in Hertfordshire, said: “It was clear every time we visited the sites, there was no substantial change to the illegal way they were being run.
“Operations like Anstey and Codicote are damaging in many ways, including the potential or actual harm caused to the environment by inappropriate and illegal storage of waste materials, and the financial impact on businesses who follow the rules, pay their way and protect the environment.
“Despite warnings from the Environment Agency to stop, Winters and the other men carried on bringing in more illegal waste.”
