The owner of a waste tyre business was yesterday (25 March) handed a 15-month custodial sentence (suspended for two years), and given a two-year supervision order after illegally storing almost 85,000 waste tyres in Devon.

Andrew Mayhew pleaded guilty to five offences of running a waste operation without the necessary permits at Plymouth Crown Court earlier this month, after the Environment Agency (EA) brought forward the case after their warnings to Mayhew were ‘deliberately ignored’.

The court heard how Mayhew rented commercial premises from January 2013 to February 2014 and collected or received end-of-use tyres before disposing of them illegally.

According to the EA, Mayhew abandoned tyres at the premises or gave them to haulers before failing to pay (thus leaving the haulers having to dispose of them at their own cost). It was also found that he had saved £9,360 by burying 300 tonnes of end-of-life tyre bales at Moor Barton Farm in Tiverton, instead of disposing of them legally. Several other sites were used for the dumping of the tyres, including Hill Barton Business Park in Exeter and sites in Dawlish, North Tawton and Tavistock.

The prosecution told the court that Mayhew had left the owners of four commercial sites with unpaid rent amounting to £15,220 and waste removal costs exceeding £14,500. They added that despite receiving ‘considerable advice’ from the EA – including ‘guidance and general warnings regarding his activities’ –Mayhew ‘deliberately ignored all advice’.

Judge Paul Darlow, presiding over the case, described the dumping as a ‘serious offence’ and criticised Mayhew’s attitude towards EA staff, saying he had been ‘abusive and threatening’.

As such, he handed down a 15-month custodial sentence (suspended for two years), a two-year supervision order, and ordered Mayhew to pay £700 towards the costs of the prosecution.

Offence ‘undermines the tyre recycling industry’

Commenting on the case, the spokesperson from the Environment Agency said: “The illegal handling of waste tyres is a serious issue that affects the environment and undermines the legitimate tyre recycling industry. We take environmental crime very seriously and won’t hesitate to prosecute offenders.

“Mayhew conned people into believing he was a legitimate businessman. He got paid to collect waste tyres then abandoned them at the four premises he leased, failing to pay rent and bills in the meantime and left the site owners to pay to clear up his mess.

“Legitimate tyre recycling businesses operate on tight margins. Mayhew deliberately profiteered by not running his business properly. If you flour environmental law, then we will not hesitate to take action.

“The cost to the Environment Agency of investigating and concluding this case has been incurred in a bid to protect the environment and ensure a level playing field for the tyre recycling industry.”

Waste crime crackdown

This news comes just days after the announcement that a director of electronic goods shipping company Bakour Limited has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, for trying to illegally export electrical waste to countries in West Africa.

In addition to this, on 10 March six people were arrested during dawn raids following an investigation led by the EA into the illegal dumping of waste.

Find out more about the increasing efforts to crack down on waste crime.