A HALESOWEN man has been found guilty at Worcester Crown Court for operating an unlawful waste operation on land at Cinetic Quarry, Sandy Lane in Worcestershire.

The court heard John Chamberlain of Furlong Lane, Halesowen pleaded guilty to one charge of operating a regulated facility on land at Cinetic Quarry beyond the extent authorised by the Environmental Permit.

He was fined £500 and ordered to pay £250 in costs.

Chamberlain managed the quarry on behalf of United Waste Management Ltd whilst they operated unlawfully on the site and committed the offences. During this time he knowingly permitted the company United Waste Management Services Ltd to unlawfully deposit and bury waste at the Quarry.

Chamberlain has previously been convicted of similar offences, which were taken by the court to be an aggravating feature of this case.

In mitigation, his representative referred to his ill health and limited financial means.

Judge Pearce Higgins also sentenced Brian Williams of Sandy Lane, Wildmoor at Worcester Crown Court for their part in the commission of environmental offences.

The court heard that the two men permitted the operation of an illegal waste site at Cinetic Quarry between January 2011 and December 2012.

The site had operated beyond the terms of the permit with household, commercial, industrial and municipal waste found buried in areas of the quarry. Those involved also made a financial gain by carrying out these unlawful waste operations.

The charges were brought by the Environment Agency contrary to Regulations 12 (1) (a) and 38 (1) (a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.

An Environment Agency spokesman said: “This site posed a risk to the environment and had the potential to harm human health because it did not have the correct infrastructure in place to support the waste being disposed of there.

“Both of the defendants have significant experience in the waste industry so they would have been fully aware of their obligations to comply with environmental permitting rules which help ensure the environment remains protected.

"Each defendant was given warnings by the Environment Agency that the operation at Cinetic Quarry was unlawful, but these warnings were ignored. This is unacceptable; we take waste crime extremely seriously and will not hesitate to prosecute in cases such as this.”