UK tire recycler fined for waste offences

Irvine, Scotland – Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has fined a tire recycler over £71,000 and ordered its manager to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work for waste offences at the company’s site.

The Scottish environmental watchdog said 20 April that Autowaste Services Scotland Ltd, and a manager Stephen Gillies, pleaded guilty to depositing, keeping, sorting and baling waste tires without a waste management licence.

The company had also failed to remove the waste tires when required to do so by a notice served by SEPA.

SEPA said its officers visited the site over 18 times between October 2014 and October 2015 after they discovered that more tires were kept at the site than allowed under the terms of a registered waste exemption.

“Numerous verbal discussions took place with the company’s management and they were sent advisory letters, warning letters and statutory notices about the limitations of the exemptions regime and the requirement for a waste management licence,” SEPA added.

According to the Scottish agency, in October 2015 there were more than 46,000 waste tires at the site.

At that time, an operator needed to hold a waste management licence if more than 1,000 waste tires were being stored on a site.

Additionally, a licence is also required to sort and bale tires.

“However, Autowaste Services Scotland Ltd did not hold a waste management licence for the site,” SEPA noted.

Image source: SEPA