The operator of a wood waste recycling business has been given a nine-month custodial sentence and ordered to pay a total of £330,120 for operating a recycling business without the relevant environmental permits.

On Tuesday (7 January), Sheffield Crown Court sentenced Christopher Roy Theaker, 29, for four charges relating to the operation of illegal wood waste facilities in Mansfield and Sheffield.

According to counsel Kevin Saunders, prosecuting for the Environment Agency (EA), between June 2010 and October 2011, Theaker had operated four separate illegal wood waste sites across Sheffield and Mansfield, trading under the company name Theaker Recycling Limited.

The illegality centred on:

• wood storage and wood chipping activities being carried out without the relevant environmental permits;
• processing more waste than was permitted;
• processing ‘contaminated’ wood without the relevant permits; and
• depositing wood waste on land without permission;

There were also concerns that the operations created a ‘significant risk of harm in the form of dust pollution’ and that agency advice was being ignored.

Theaker had pleaded guilty to charges brought against him at an earlier court hearing.

In passing sentence, Judge Watson QC stated that Theaker had committed the offences despite warnings from the EA, and thus ‘demonstrated a prolonged, systematic disregard for the regulations with a view to profit’.

As such, Theaker was given a nine-month custodial sentence, ordered to pay £250,000 in confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, ordered to pay £80,000 in investigation and costs, along with a £120 victim surcharge.

Speaking after the case, an Environment Agency officer in charge of the investigation, said: “We offered advice to Mr Theaker on a number of occasions to help him run his business legitimately while protecting the environment. Instead of working with us to do this, he chose to show blatant disregard for the law and moved his illegal activities from site to site. By doing this, not only did he undercut business competitors who operate legally, his activities adversely impacted a number of local communities over an extended period.

“We want to encourage responsible businesses into the area, but this case demonstrates that we will track down offenders who put profit before their obligations to local communities and the environment. We will continue to work with partner organisations to place them before the courts to face the consequences of their actions.”

The sentencing comes as the EA in England wraps up the work of its £5 million Illegal Waste Sites Task Force, which closed a ‘record’ total of 1,279 sites between April 2012 and March 2013, equating to a 70 per cent increase on 2011/12 figures.

Read more about how the Environment Agency tackles waste crime.