Prison time for waste firm director

The director of a waste firm based in Scunthorpe has been jailed for 6 months and banned from holding a directorship for seven years after storing waste illegally.

Nessa Anne Thompson, 45, of Thompson Waste Recycling, was accused of operating an illegal waste operation for the company that had previously held a permit, before it went into administration before liquidation.

The Winterton Road site in Scunthorpe continued to be used to store waste, presenting a human health and fire risk, Hull Crown Court heard last week.

The judge said that Thompson had deliberately flouted environmental regulations, and as a technically competent manager she would have known there was no permit for the site.

It even caught fire on 6 May 2014. Firefighters attending the scene were even advised not to re-use the firewater due to the risk of waterborne diseases linked to the number of rats on site.

Inadequate fire breaks at the site meant that it caused greater impact to adjacent businesses.

Thompson was sentenced at Hull Crown Court last week after being charged with waste site offences, which put the community and environment at risk.

Kevin Thompson, also listed as a director, was not charged at the same time.

An Environment Agency officer involved with the investigation said: “This site posed a risk to property, the local environment, and people’s health because our advice was ignored.

“This prosecution demonstrates that we take cases such as this very seriously and will not hesitate to prosecute if necessary, to protect the environment and local communities.
In mitigation, the court heard that the defendant had pleaded guilty to both offences and she was given credit for that. It also heard that her partner was in poor health and that they were both suffering from significant financial hardship.”