A businessman who disposed of school computers in North Yorkshire without a licence has been ordered to carry out 100 hours’ unpaid work for the community.

Michael Higgins, 37, of The Green Crescent, Slingsby, near Malton, today pleaded guilty at Scarborough Magistrates’ Court to one controlled waste offence. He was also sentenced to 12 months’ probation and ordered to pay £500 costs.

Businesses or individuals must have a licence from the Environment Agency to handle, transport and dispose of hazardous waste. IT equipment is classed as hazardous because of the nature of some of its components.

Hazardous waste regulations are intended to allow monitoring and control of hazardous waste streams to ensure safe and environmentally-sound transport and disposal. Depositing, keeping or treating controlled waste also requires an appropriate permit, known as a waste management licence, from the Environment Agency.

In December 2007, an Environment Agency officer was carrying out a routine check on the disposal of IT equipment by schools in North Yorkshire.

His attention was drawn to the activities of an unincorporated business called MJK IT Recycling, a trading name used by Higgins under which he had registered with the Environment Agency as a hazardous waste producer. However, this registration had expired in October 2006.

The address given was Dove Way, Kirbymills Industrial Estate, Kirkbymoorside, and the website displayed the Environment Agency logo and offered recycling of unwanted IT equipment, as well as sales of reconditioned hardware and a computer rental service.

As MJK, Higgins not only issued estimates and invoices but also supplied certificates of recycling to the schools. Non of the activities were licensed.

Higgins was advised about his licensing obligations and the use of the Environment Agency’s logo but failed to attend a meeting.

In February this year the environment officer returned to his premises, where he found an overfull skip containing general controlled waste and IT waste, including cathode ray monitors and printers, while other controlled waste was visible on land surrounding the unit.

When the environment officer returned to the unit later that month with licence application forms for Higgins, controlled waste still was visible outside the premises.

Paul Harley, for the Environment Agency, said an aggravating feature of the case was that computer-related waste is more dangerous to the environment and human health than inert waste and should be disposed of properly.

Mr Harley told the court Higgins did not co-operate with the Environment Agency investigation and failed to respond to advice or warnings. He said the offending was deliberate and by not paying the appropriate fees, Higgins was able to obtain a commercial advantage over licensed competitors.

In mitigation, the court gave credit for Higgins’s early guilty plea. He said he had made no money and the venture had left him in debt.