A Bristol based waste collector has been ordered to pay a total of £15,228 in fines and costs after South Gloucestershire Council prosecuted the company for waste offences.
Mark Anthony Stephens, 59, of Barrowmead Drive, Lawrence Weston, Bristol appeared at Bristol Magistrates Court on Monday 17 March where he pleaded guilty to the offences of Unauthorised Treating, Keeping or Disposal of Waste, Fly-Tipping, and Failing to Produce Waste Transfer Notes. His company ‘Waste Bristol Limited’ was fined a total of £12,000 (2 x £6,000), awarded costs to the council of £1,288, and a victim surcharge of £2,000 – totalling £15,228.
The court heard that in April 2024, local residents became aware of activity within the car park of Rangeworthy Court, a historic Manor House and former hotel located at Church Lane, Rangeworthy, South Gloucestershire. The hotel is in a semi-rural location, the grounds of which border onto a churchyard and farm.
A white Transit sized tipper truck would arrive after dark and tip waste within the hotel car park. The truck was sign-written ‘Waste Bristol’, and the occupants of the truck would then arrange the waste into a bonfire and set it alight. This would happen on a weekly basis, with the men using an accelerant to ignite the fire. The fire would burn intensely, and the men would remain at the bonfire for up to 45 minutes before driving off to leave the fire to burn out unsupervised. The heat from these fires were causing the roof tiles on an adjacent barn to crack. There were also concerns that embers carried on the wind could ignite a nearby hay barn.
On the evening of Thursday 18 July 2024, a local resident observed a large plume of smoke coming from the direction of Rangeworthy Court, which he believed had caught fire. He called the fire brigade and then made his way round to the hotel car park to find a bonfire being supervised. Parked in front of the bonfire was a Ford Transit truck sign-written ‘Waste Bristol’. He re-contacted the fire brigade to advise that the fire was a supervised bonfire in the car park and the Fire Brigade cancelled the call out. The resident took two photographs of the incident, one of Rangeworthy Court showing smoke rising behind it, and one of a bonfire, with the Waste Bristol truck parked in front of it.
Late in the evening of Thursday 5 September 2024 a further witness observed a ‘Waste Bristol’ truck drive out of Church Lane from the direction of Rangeworthy Court. He then looked into the car park of Rangeworthy Court to see a bonfire burning unattended.
In the following weeks South Gloucestershire Council’s envirocrime officers regularly attended Rangeworthy Court car park to check for further bonfire activity, whilst trying to establish contact with the premises owner. They found the remains of three further bonfires held on site and the owner provided a statement confirming that no persons had her permission to bring onto, store, or dispose of by way of burning, any waste at Rangeworthy Court.
On 24 October 2024, the director of Waste Bristol Limited (an Upper Tier Licensed Waste Carrier), Mark Stephens, was interviewed at the council’s Yate offices. During the interview Stephens confirmed he was the director and sole worker of Waste Bristol Limited. He admitted to regularly attending Rangeworthy Court, having been introduced to the site by a roofing company working there, whom he had taken waste away for. Stephens could not provide any details for this company.
Stephens stated that his subsequent visits to the site were to relax and connect with ‘spirits’ that he sensed were present there. When shown the photograph of a Waste Bristol truck in front of a bonfire, he denied any involvement stating that the fire was already lit when he arrived there. At the end of the interview he was reported for summons for the offences disclosed.
Councillor Sean Rhodes, cabinet member responsible for environmental enforcement at South Gloucestershire Council, said: “We want to send a clear message to anyone who fails in their duty of care for waste disposal in South Gloucestershire that they will be brought before the courts. This case saw an unscrupulous waste company ignore all of their legal responsibilities and set alight vast amounts of potentially harmful waste at the historic Rangeworthy Court.
“Our advice to residents, is to be wary of businesses or people advertising waste clearances on social media sites such as Facebook. There are a number of legitimate options for waste removal, including the council’s large household waste collection service. If you hire a third-party to dispose of your waste, always ask for a copy of the company’s waste carrier registration certificate and ask where the waste is being taken.
“Prosecutions like these protect our environment and create cleaner and safer places for our communities. These are key priorities of the Liberal Democrat/ Labour partnership.”
Residents and businesses are advised to only give their rubbish to an Environment Agency registered waste carrier.
You can carry out these simple steps to make sure your waste is disposed of legally:
• Ask for a copy of the company’s waste carrier registration certificate and ask where the waste is being taken. Legitimate firms will be happy to provide this information.
• Do not be tempted to use people offering cheap waste clearance on sites such as Facebook and Gumtree unless you have confirmed that they are registered with the Environment Agency
• Check whether the waste carrier is registered by calling the Environment Agency on 08708 506506 or by checking on their website https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers
• Ask for a registered trading address and contact telephone number for the trader and get a receipt.
Household waste can be taken to the council’s Sort It recycling centres where it can be disposed of at no cost www.southglos.gov.uk/sortitcentres
Residents who see illegal fly-tipping are encouraged to report it by contacting the council’s StreetCare helpdesk on 01454 868000, emailing streetcare@southglos.gov.uk or visiting www.southglos.gov.uk/flytipping
