Businessman avoids jail over 2,000 tonnes of illegal waste dump

A man has avoided jail and been given a £2,000 fine after he dumped around 2,000 tonnes of rubbish illegally on a waste site by the Lincolnshire border.

Samual Hussan, 61, of Bevercotes Close in Newark, is the named director of Sammy Recycling Limited, which ran the site at Fen Lane in Long Bennington.

Environment Agency officers were first made aware of the site in August 2018, following local complaints. Exemptions were in place at the site to process waste, but they were not being fully complied with.

Plastic waste had blown around the location with no fencing in place to keep it in, which promoted investigators to speak to Hussan and raise concerns.

Just a month later, officers returned to the site to find that some of the waste was no longer being separated properly – an additional breach to the exemptions he had for the site.

Around 1,600 tonnes of plastic waste was left discarded at the site once the company left. | Photo: Environment Agency

Then, in February 2019, officers were told that Sammy Recycling Ltd. had left Fen Lane, despite huge amounts of waste still being left behind, as well as pools of contaminated standing water.

It was calculated that over 2,000 tonnes of waste had been left, including 1,600 tonnes of plastic, 26 tonnes of paper. 45 tonnes of wipes and 510 tonnes of carpet.

Evidence suggested that some of the waste was being sold, while there were also signs of attempts to burn some of the remaining plastic.

Safety concerns were again raised during a visit in April 2019, with fencing collapsing and leaving the site open for arson attacks.

After receiving no response from Hussan or Sammy Recycling Ltd. as to why it hadn’t been moved, he was taken to court where he pleaded guilty to charges in January 2022.

Numerous red flags were spotted during inspections of the site. | Photo: Environment Agency

His appearance at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on May 6 saw him plead guilty to operating a waste site without an environmental permit contrary to Regulation 38 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016.

Hussan also pled guilty to keeping waste in a manner likely to pollute the environment or harm human health arising from risk of fire. He and his company additionally pled guilty to failing to provide waste transfer notes.

The 61-year-old was sentenced to 26 weeks in custody, suspended for two years. He was also disqualified from becoming a director for the next five years, ordered to pay £2,000 in costs and a £100 victim surcharge – his company Sammy Recycling was fined £1,000.

Environment Manager, Yvonne Daly, said: “We take illegal waste activity very seriously and will take the necessary action to and prosecute those responsible.

“We expect businesses to take responsibility for their operations, which Mr Hussan failed to do and, in the process, left the local population at risk.

“Businesses must keep documentation which describes the waste, how it was stored, the person whom it was transferred to and where the waste was disposed.

“Failure to do so can be punished by a fixed penalty notice or a prosecution and fine if the case goes to court.

“Members of the public can report waste crime to us on 0800 807060 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”