On 12 May 2005 at Rugby Magistrates Court Jewson Ltd were fined £40,000 after pleading guilty to four charges of illegally depositing, keeping and treating controlled waste on land when they did not have a waste management licence. The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Representing the Environment Agency, Carolyn Pickering told the Court that in February 2004 the Agency were informed by local residents of the deposit of wastes at the Jewson Leamington Spa branch at Rugby Road. Environment Agency officers attended the site and discovered that a former storage compound at the rear of the site was being used to stockpile wastes including soil, subsoil, concrete, metal, and asbestos cement.
Jewson Ltd pleaded guilty to the charges and were also ordered to pay the Environment Agency’s costs totalling £6,181.
Speaking after the case, Gill May, an Environment Agency Officer who led the investigation, said: "Companies must be aware of, and comply with their responsibilities under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. They must ensure that they manage their wastes so that they do not pose a risk to the environment or human health.
"The actions of Jewson Ltd were illegal resulting in this fine which the Agency hopes will act as a deterrent to others who may be tempted to dispose of their waste illegally.
"Companies who produce waste have a Duty of Care to ensure that it is passed on to a registered waste carrier and is disposed or treated at a suitably licensed waste management facility. Anyone who is unsure about meeting their Duty of Care should contact the Environment Agency for advice or look at our website.
"The illegal operations continued over four months and were of great concern to local residents as the compound containing the waste was surrounded by housing on three sides. Both brown and white fragments of asbestos cement were found to be on site that could have posed a potential risk to human health."
In mitigation, the court heard that the company had no previous convictions and entered a guilty plea, had co-operated fully with the Agency during the investigation and had made no profit from the activities. The Court was told that following the investigation Jewson had spent £108,000 to dispose of all of the waste materials at the site.