The owner of a waste management company from Blaenau Gwent has been jailed for eight months following a Natural Resources Wales (NRW) investigation into his illegal deposit of waste.

Adrian Lewis, 43, of Ebbw Vale, appeared at Newport Crown Court on Friday (16 October). The court heard how Lewis’s company, A Lewis Waste Management and Skip Hire Ltd, had stored up to 4,000 tonnes of waste at the site in Nantyglo, Blaenau Gwent, which was only permitted to hold 620 tonnes.

A fire at the site in January 2013 alerted NRW (then Environment Agency Wales) to the possible breach of environmental permit. The fire burnt for 10 days and cost £70,000 to clean up.

Although the levels of waste did not exceed the company’s permit at the time, an enforcement notice was served in December 2013, after officers found that the turnover of rubbish on the site did not adhere to its permit.

The court heard that subsequent visits by officers revealed that this notice has not been followed, and that waste on the site, including skips full of hazardous waste, had exceeded the 620-tonne limit for the site. NRW has estimated that clean-up of the site will cost £1,354,000.

A statement released by NRW said: “Lewis had been warned a number of times about the breaches on site and the offences on the unpermitted sites. He continued to cause further waste to be brought onto the land, including during the period when he had been interviewed about the matter and released on bail. The company continued to receive income for the waste it received.”

Lewis and his company were prosecuted by NRW for a number of environmental offences, and charged with offences relating to:

• breaching the conditions of the company’s environmental permit;
• failing to comply with enforcement notices instructing the company to comply with permit conditions;
• depositing controlled waste substances on land at Blaenant Industrial Estate; and
• failing to comply with enforcement notices requiring the removal of waste.

In August this year, NRW issued notices revoking two environmental permits for two waste transfer stations operated by Lewis. The action was taken following ‘repeated failures’ by Lewis to comply with his permits, and ‘the serious environmental risks’ that the site presented.

At Cardiff Crown Court on 2 February this year, Lewis pleaded guilty to nine charges, and entered not guilty pleases to two charges relating to infrastructure on the transfer station site. He later pleaded guilty to these two charges before a trial as convened.

On Friday, Judge Daniel Williams sentenced Lewis to eight months in prison for two charges of being in breach of an environmental condition. He was also given a six-month sentence for two further breaches of an environmental condition and four months for one charge of failing to comply with a notice to remove the stockpiled waste. A further four months was added for three charges of unlawfully depositing waste on land.

All eight sentences will run concurrently, meaning Lewis will serve eight months in prison. A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing has also been scheduled, with sentence of the company adjourned until the compensation hearing.

NRW ‘will continue to clamp down on illegal waste trade’

Jon Goldsworthy, Operations Manager from NRW, said: “Waste sites have a permit setting out rules which they have to follow so they do not pose a risk to the environment and local people. We gave Mr Lewis every opportunity to comply with the conditions in his permits but he did not do this.

“We will continue to clamp down on the illegal waste trade to protect our natural resources and our communities, and to ensure a level playing field for businesses.”

The sentencing follows a promise to act on waste crime from Welsh Resources Minister Carl Sargeant.

Learn more about the costs of waste crime and potential solutions to the problem.