Lincolnshire recycling company fined for unlawful waste spreading on farmland

A Lincolnshire-based food waste recycling company has been fined £36,000 after unlawful land spreading and waste storing in the county and beyond.

Whites Recycling Limited pleaded guilty to eight offences in September 2022, including the breach of environmental permit conditions – relating to the spread of waste to farmland across the country.

It is a company that disposes and recycles waste sludge and liquid waste, the majority of which are generated by the food industry.

Lawfully, the company can spread such waste to farmlands in circumstances where it can be demonstrated that the land will benefit agriculturally or ecologically.

Spreading waste to land can be done as an alternative source to traditional fertilisers, but environmental permits are in place to monitor this and ensure this doesn’t happen in excess.

Whites had an environmental permit that allowed it to spread food waste to land for agricultural benefit, and it was a condition of its permit that before it could start to store or spread waste, the Environment Agency must be notified and agree to it.

This agreement ensures that waste is only permitted to be spread to land where it benefits the soil or crop, rather than posing a threat to the environment.

However, the District Judge passing sentence on this case stated that the company had been negligent and failed to take reasonable care to put in place and enforce proper systems for avoiding the offences.

Doncaster Magistrates’ Court heard that Whites Recycling Limited, breached its permit by spreading liquid waste to fields near Ivy House Farm in Auckley between March and May 2018.

Further offences occurred at Acomb Farm, Blaxton in November and December 2018; as well as to East Ferry Road in Susworth, Lincolnshire between November and December of 2019.

Liquid waste containing nitrogen and phosphates were spread on land by the company at the wrong time of year or in excessive quantities.

This posed a risk of pollution to ground water, and the Lincolnshire-based company also pleaded guilty to the illegal storage of liquid waste in a storage tank between July 2017 and April 2018.

The court fined Whites Recycling Limited £36,000 and further ordered the company to pay a statutory surcharge of £170, along with the Environment Agency’s investigation and legal costs of £38,008.17.

After the sentencing, Area Environment Manager Steve Lawrie said: “Our rules are in place for a good reason and to ensure that any material that is spread is done correctly and managed in a way that protects the environment. We will not hesitate to take enforcement action in future for those who breach their permits and refuse to cooperate.

“We hope this case sends a message to other land spreading operators and farmers that we take land spreading offences very seriously. Operators must follow the correct procedures to ensure they spread safely, in accordance with their environmental permits.

“We will always take action against anyone who fails to act in accordance with environmental laws and if anyone spots an environmental incident, they can report it to the Environment Agency’s 24-hour incident hotline on 0800 807060.”

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