The Cost Of Illegal Tyre Storage

Illegally storing 10,000 tyres cost a Halifax man more than £2,000, according to the Environment Agency. Halifax Magistrate’s Court fined Simon John McCormack a total of £500 and ordered him to pay compensation of £1,034 to SHD Holdings. A contribution of £500 to the costs of the Environment Agency, which brought the case, was also imposed.

McCormack, 33, of Illingworth, pleaded guilty to three charges in total, relating to the illegal storage of tyres at two units on an industrial estate. He was charged with depositing and keeping tyres on land which was not covered by a waste management licence and also with failing to comply with a notice to remove the waste. All of the offences were contrary to the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Trevor Cooper, prosecuting for the Environment Agency, told the court that on 18 November 2004 Environment Agency officers responded to allegations about tyres being illegally stored at industrial units on SDH Industrial Estate at Sowerby Bridge.

When they arrived at the site the officers discovered that McCormack leased two units, both of which contained large amounts of car and motorbike tyres. One unit was so full the officers could not physically get into it. They estimated that 10,000 tyres were being illegally stored at the site. In addition to the units crammed with tyres, one of the yards contained two HGV trailers also stacked with tyres.

Tyres are classed as controlled waste and anyone storing, keeping or disposing of them needs a waste management licence from the Environment Agency. Records showed that McCormack had never applied for a licence.

By the 17 February 2005 officers returned and discovered the tyres still there, so served a notice requiring their removal. McCormack was given until 4 April 2005 to move the tyres and when officers returned on 12 April they still had not been moved. Mr Cooper told the court that the owner of the units, SDH Holdings, paid £1,034 for the legitimate disposal of the two trailers of tyres.

In mitigation, McCormack claimed that he took over his father’s business and that the place where his point of disposal of the business burnt down and he found it difficult to find an alternative place to dispose of the tyres.

Speaking after the case, an Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Businesses that deal with tyres should make the proper checks on people who offer to take their waste tyres away and quote a price that seems too good to be true. Often this means it actually is, and the tyres will end up someone else’s problem dumped on a country lane or in a warehouse somewhere. Businesses should also be aware that they have a duty to ensure their waste is being disposed of legally and they could find themselves in court if they do not.”