Yorkshire man sentenced for operating illegal waste site

A man has been sentenced for operating an illegal waste site in West Yorkshire, following a successful prosecution by the Environment Agency.

Robert Deacon, 63, of High Eldwick, Bingley, appeared at Bradford Crown Court where he was sentenced to a 12-month Community Order with 200 hours of unpaid work.

He pleaded guilty to two separate charges of operating an illegal waste site – a regulated facility without an environmental permit, which is required by law.

Further to his sentencing, the court also issued a remediation notice, requiring the land to be cleared of waste within two months.

The offences happened between 30 January 2018 and 8 June 2021, and between 25 June 2023 and 9 April 2024 whilst trading as Abacus Skip Hire, based in High Eldwick, Bingley.

Deacon will also pay costs of £11,000 and must pay an additional £85 victim surcharge.

Two further offences will remain on file. These relate to keeping or treating controlled waste in a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health and submitting controlled waste to a listed operation.

Rich Myers, environmental crime officer for the Environment Agency, said: “Deacon operated his business without an environmental permit, which protect communities and the environment, and despite being advised to stop on numerous occasions he continued to disregard the law.

“As a regulator, we are committed to protecting the environment from risk of pollution, so we are rigorously targeting illegal waste activities across the country.

“We urge all those seeking to become involved in the waste industry to ensure they have the appropriate permits and authorisations in place.”