A mother and son who ran a waste yard where rubbish was illegally stored and burned have been jailed.
Police and the Environment Agency (EA) took part in raids at MWM Recycling Ltd in August 2018. Two men were arrested and several vehicles seized at the site on Redfern Street in Kirkdale. Now two people have been jailed after they pleaded guilty to a number of waste crime offences in relation to the management of the site.
Patricia Hills ,69, of Moss Delph Lane, Aughton was jailed for one year. Her son Mark Hills, 44, of Turn Pike Road, Aughton, was jailed for eight months.
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Patricia Hills was in control of the site and Mark was responsible for its day-to-day running. A spokesperson for the EA said that MVM Recycling's environmental permit was revoked after a number of breaches, and they were issued with an enforcement notice.
But despite this waste continued to be stored and illegally burnt on site. Mrs Hills has also been banned from being a company director for five years, a spokesperson said.
Patricia and Mark Hills were jailed during a hearing yesterday (March 22) at Liverpool Crown Court. Patricia Hills pleaded guilty to five offences, including failing to comply with environmental permit conditions and knowingly permitting the deposit of controlled waste. Mark Hills pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to comply with environmental permit conditions.
Ashleigh Bennington Area Environment Manager at the Environment Agency said: “The Environment Agency is committed to taking robust enforcement action against those who break the law, to protect communities and the environment.
“In this case, Patricia and Mark Hills were offered extensive advice and guidance from Environment Agency officers but despite this, failed to clear the Redfern Street site of waste, and even accepted further waste when they did not have a permit to do so. This caused unacceptable risk the local community and environment.
“Sites like this, undercut legitimate businesses and risk harming the environment. That’s why, we are determined to make life hard for criminals and support legitimate business by disrupting and stopping waste offenders.
“Members of the public can report waste crime to our 24/7 incident hotline on 0800 807060, waste crime can also be reported anonymously via Crimestoppers online or on 0800 555111.”
