The Environment Agency has successfully prosecuted Waste Recycling Group (WRG) yesterday (17 January 2011) for failing to maintain post-restoration control systems for managing landfill gas from the former Hermitage Landfill site near Newbury, Berkshire.
Waste Recycling Group (WRG) Central Limited are required to pay total of £28,184 (£20,000 in fines, £8,169 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge) with the most important aspect of this case, being the first time that the Environment Agency has prosecuted a landfill company for gas emissions.
The immediate importance of the case is that owners of former landfill sites must ensure that they continue to maintain their gas control measures long after the site has closed. In this case, the defendant was not managing the landfill in accordance with its site management system and was unaware that the gas flare system had failed, both conditions of their environmental permit.
The wider issue of this case is the seriousness that the Environment Agency has taken in its role in combating climate change and sends a strong message to landfill operators to ensure that they must take their obligations seriously.
Further information can be found at: http://bit.ly/hoPukK