A Somerset builder has been given a five-year criminal behaviour order (CBO) and 150 hours of community service for illegal waste activities. It is the first CBO secured by the Environment Agency.
Bernard Molloy admitted at Taunton Crown Court to transporting, depositing and transferring waste illegally. The court was told that Molloy’s flatbed Ford Transit was regularly seen travelling to and from a field off Wall Ditch Lane, Merriott. When agency officers visited the site on 19 August 2014, they discovered piles of domestic and business waste. The site did not have a waste permit.
Molloy pleaded guilty to depositing controlled waste, including rubble, timber, electrical items and various mixed and commercial waste, in the field without an environmental permit between 1 June and 18 December 2014, contrary to regulations 12(1) and 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010. He was also convicted of illegally burning waste in a manner likely to cause pollution or harm to human health.
Under the terms of the CBO, Molloy is prohibited from collecting, carrying, transporting or depositing any waste in the course of his or any other business. He is also barred from the site. If the order is breached, Molloy risks a prison sentence of up to five years. In addition to the CBO and community service, Molloy had to pay £2,500 towards investigation costs.
