Haulage firm fined thousands by the EA for waste offences

Hertfordshire haulage firm fined £28,000 for storing waste in breach of its environment permit

Winters Haulage has been fined £28,000 in Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court for breaching its environment permit following an investigation by the Environment Agency.

The firm is based in Hertfordshire but the breaches took place at its second site in Oakleigh Road South, in Southgate, London. Winters Haulage no longer operates from this site, but at the time of the offences, the company was storing waste in a manner which breached permit regulations.

The EA found waste wood, soil and plastic stored outside the reception area at the Oakleigh Road South site. Waste had also been allowed to build up to heights above the maximum of 2.5m permitted by the firm’s environment permit.

Mark Winters, the director at Winters Haulage, said that an arson attack at the company’s Hertfordshire premises had led to the waste offences, as it had been forced to dispose more waste than usual at the London site.

In court, the prosecutor for the EA claimed that Winter Haulage failed to act upon the agency’s advice and the problems went uncorrected.

Winters Haulage, which is allowed to operate 30 vehicles and 12 trailers, was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay costs of £13,878.34 and a victim surcharge of £120.

Environment Agency officer, Ruth Shaw, commented: “Storing waste in excess of the amount permitted and outside rather than inside the designated covered area increases the potential risk to the environment and human health.”

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