A COMPANY that ran illegal waste dumps has been fined £39,000 by Worcester magistrates.

Midlands Recycling Ltd was found guilty, in its absence, of one charge of disposing of controlled waste on land at Stonehill Farm, Ombersley, without a licence, and one charge of transferring waste without sufficient description.

Magistrates also found that the firm was guilty of depositing waste and controlled waste at Crabbe Yard, Wadborough.

The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The company was ordered to pay court costs

of £3,529.

Speaking after the case, an agency spokesman said: "We will not tolerate the illegal dumping of waste on land that has not been adapted to accept that waste and when there is no

waste management licence

in place.

"I hope this fine will act as a warning to businesses who think that they can just flout the law and behave in as irresponsible a manner as Midlands Recycling Ltd."

The illegal actions were discovered on a routine visit by the Environment Agency, which had recently changed the way it interpreted waste classifications.

The spokesman added: "We wrote to the company in September 2003 after two officers visited Crabbe Yard and found that demolition waste was being stored on the site.

After this, we saw that the amount of demolition waste had reduced to nominal amounts.

"However, in March and April, last year, we noticed other breaches of the law. The same was discovered at Stonehill Farm."

Midlands Recycling Ltd could not be contacted for a comment.