Man sentenced for running waste transfer station from his home

A Catterick man who ran an illegal waste transfer station from his own home has been sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for 12 months, by Northallerton Magistrates.


Jonathan Wright, aged 54, was also given 300 hours community service and ordered to pay £500 towards costs to the Environment Agency (EA), which brought the case.

Lorna Matchett, prosecuting for the EA, told the court how Wright had been storing waste at his home since 2010 without any permit. An investigation by the EA in 2010 and 2011 revealed large numbers of electrical waste and scrap metal inside and outside of Wright’s property.

Wright was given a deadline of 14 June 2010 to remove the waste, but when officers returned there had been no effort to clear it. During further visits in the following months, scrap metal and white goods were still being stored.

Surveillance of Wright’s property was set up a number of times from January to April 2011, which observed his vehicles moving between the house and a household waste site in Catterick on a number of occasions, late at night.

Officers witnessed scrap metal being unloaded at the property. Wright’s property was searched in May 2011 with the assistance of North Yorkshire Police. Officers found lead acid batteries, sorted piles of scrap metal, and a large amount of electrical waste items.

They also found gas cylinders, copper cabling and tyres. Other waste found included dismantled motorbikes, radiators, electrical wiring, bed frames, and drums. The drive was also covered in waste which was spilling out onto the pavement.

Matchett told the court that by using his home illegally as a waste transfer station, Wright avoided costs and fees in excess of £12,000. Wright was interviewed on 24 May 2011 and said he was collecting scrap metals and people were dropping items off for him at his property. He admitted that it was scrap metal, that he repaired some items, and weighed some metal in to sell.

Although Wright was registered as a waste carrier to transport waste, he didn’t have an environmental permit to store the waste at his home. Matchett told the court that Wright continued to offend for over a year at his property, which was not an appropriate location for such a business.

Maxine Perella

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