Yorkshire company penalised for waste crime offences

The Environment Agency has successfully prosecuted Whitelock Developments Ltd and its director, John Colin Whitelock, for falsifying documents and therefore misrepresenting the deposit of waste at a permitted site.

The agency said the Skipton-based company’s actions led to waste not being disposed of correctly and within environmental standards, “causing unacceptable risks to the environment and local community.”  

Whitelock Developments Ltd was contracted to import specific waste to the permitted site in Accrington, Lancashire. Whitelock used his company name to lie in documentation about where over 700 loads of waste had come from.

This resulted in the owners of the permitted site he worked for to unknowingly breach their permit.

Whitelock, sole director of his business, appeared at Crewe Magistrates Court on 30 March 2023 where he was sentenced to a 12-month community order, comprising 200 hours unpaid work, ordered to pay costs of £10,000 and a victim surcharge of £90.

His business has been fined £30,000, ordered to pay costs of £20,000 and a victim surcharge of £170.

The owners of the permitted site in Accrington have not been prosecuted in this case, as they were unaware Whitelock and his company had lied about the origins of the waste.

John Neville, area environment manager at the Environment Agency, said: “We’re committed to taking strong action against those who break the law, to protect communities and the environment.

“In this case, Mr Whitelock allowed his company to lie to a permitted site he was contracted to work for, by falsifying waste transfer notes, which are legally required documents for transferring waste.

“Mr Whitelock’s actions seriously undermined the regulatory system and the owners of the permitted Accrington site’s efforts to ensure only appropriate and tested restoration materials were imported to the site, as per their permit.

“His actions also placed unacceptable risk on the environment and the local community.

“That’s why we are determined to make life hard for criminals and support legitimate businesses by disrupting and stopping waste offenders.”

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