Fridges, freezers and window frames dumped at Middlesbrough site

Martin Robert Hindmarsh, 47, of High Street, Stokesley, and his company B8 Waste Management Limited, were fined and ordered to pay costs totalling almost £26,000 for running the illegal site in Middlesbrough.

Hindmarsh was also banned from being a company director for two years and ordered to clear the site by the end of the year.

Hindmarsh appeared at Teesside Magistrates’ Court this week where he pleaded guilty to operating a waste site without a permit at Tame Road in Middlesbrough, failing to produce waste transfer notes, and failing to comply with a notice to clear the site of waste. The company pleaded guilty to operating a waste site without a permit.

The illegal waste on site at Tame Road, Middlesbrough (Image: ENVIRONMENT AGENCY)

The court heard that in May 2021 Hindmarsh submitted a request for advice to the Environment Agency, which indicated he wanted to operate a waste transfer station at the Middlesbrough site.

The agency replied with advice and was clear that activities must not start without an environmental permit in place.

In October the same year, the Environment Agency started to receive reports of vermin and large quantities of waste on the site.

Officers attended and although the site was locked they could see about 100 tonnes of mixed commercial and domestic waste, including fridges, freezers and PVC window frames.

Fridges, freezers and PVC window frames were dumped at the site, which attracted vermin (Image: ENVIRONMENT AGENCY)

There was no environmental permit for the site, meaning it was an illegal operation.

The officers spoke to Hindmarsh and told him to clear the site, giving him numerous opportunities over the next six months to comply, and to also produce waste transfer notes from his activities.

This culminated in an official notice in May 2022 ordering him to clear the site by July 24. A visit on August 1that year saw this had also not been complied with. On December 6 the Environment Agency issued a second notice ordering that all waste transfer notes be produced.

To date both notices issued by the Environment Agency relating to the clearance of the site and production of waste transfer notes has not been complied with.

Hindmarsh has been ordered to clear the site by 4pm on December 31 (Image: ENVIRONMENT AGENCY)

Gary Wallace, area environment manager for the Environment Agency, said: “Environmental permits are in place to protect the public and environment and we told Hindmarsh no waste operation could start without one. No permit was ever applied for, with Hindmarsh and the company he ran deliberately flouting the law.

“He ignored much of the communication from our officers telling him to cease activity and clear the site, and despite making numerous commitments, each time officers attended nothing had changed.

“Illegal activity such as this undermines legitimate businesses that work hard to operate within the regulations, as well as putting the environment at risk and impacting on the local community.

“I hope this sentence sends out the message to others that trying to bypass environmental laws for financial gain can ultimately end up being significantly more costly.”

Read more stories here:

• Man, 60, arrested in North East by specialist officers as part of national sting
• GUILTY: Businessman guilty of manslaughter after Christmas Day slashing
• Pub chain guilty of health and safety breach after young student's death

Get the latest news, sports, and entertainment delivered straight to your device for just £4 for 4 months here.

Hindmarsh was fined £9,231 and ordered to pay £2,300 costs while his company was fined £9,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,000. Both were ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £190 each.

An order was made against Hindmarsh for him to clear the site by 4pm on December 31 and he was disqualified from being a company director for two years.

Illegal waste activity can be reported to the Environment Agency on 0800 807060.