Jack Moody Limited was sentenced to fines and costs of £92,000 at Stafford Magistrates’ Court on 12 July for causing smells and emissions from a composting site in Shareshill, near Wolverhampton.

Garden centre and composting site Jack Moody Limited, of Hollybush Farm, Warstone Road, Shareshill pleaded guilty to the charges on 5 July 2010. These included treating, keeping and disposing of composting material in a way that caused pollution of the environment, contravening the waste management licence and knowingly allowing waste to be deposited at the site while the waste management licence was suspended.

The district judge, Judge Taylor, rejected the argument given by the defence that there was not a commercial motivation behind the offences. The judge found that the green waste material had been processed far too quickly on site.

The court heard how Environment Agency officers had visited the site on numerous occasions, and after many warnings a suspension notice was served on 11 December 2007. However, the site continued to receive waste between 2 and 11 January 2008 when the Waste Management Licence was suspended. The Judge concluded that this was further evidence for the commercial motivation of the company to the detriment of local residents.

The company had also been required to fence the site and prevent unauthorised access previously and then again after the company had claimed that fires which had occurred on site were the result of vandalism or theft.

For the Environment Agency, counsel Barry Berlin told the court that over a lengthy period the company mismanaged the site and breached its Waste Management Licence in various respects resulting in putrid smells and polluting emissions from rotting composting material and compost fires.

Speaking after the case Doug Freakley, Environment Management Team Leader said: “We support appropriate recycling but are aware of the problems that poor management of green waste composting can cause. While we endeavour to work with site operators to resolve issues, we will take strong enforcement action if problems are not rectified.”

In mitigation defence counsel John Cooper commented that the company were experienced compost operators carrying out an important recycling activity in an industry that was still in its infancy. He claimed the company was pioneering and trying to produce a quality product for re-use. He also suggested that the company had not been given enough advice on how to extinguish fires on site, but Counsel for the Environment Agency informed the court that Staffordshire Fire and Rescue had provided appropriate advice on how to extinguish fires.

The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Jack Moody Limited was fined £32,000 and ordered to pay costs of £60,000, along with a £15 victim surcharge.