Last month the Environment Agency and Natural Resource Wales both warned farmers about fraudsters looking to store waste on their sites.
Farmers in Lincolnshire were offered cash to take tarmac road planings that they were told could be used to repair roads and farmyards on their land. What they received instead were bales of landfill waste leaving the famers liable for the cost of transporting and disposing of this waste legally.
In Wales, a number of farmers were approached to store refuse derived fuel on their sites. The waste was left and never collected, again leaving the farmers with the clean –up costs.
In light of these incidences, Wiser Environment advises farmers:
- The storage of waste of any type is tightly controlled. Unless you have a relevant environmental permit in waste, do not accept waste of any type.
- If you are licenced to store waste, always ensure that any waste you accept comes with the correct paperwork i.e. waste transfer note or consignment note.
- Ensure that any waste carrier is appropriately licensed i.e. registered with the EA or NRW as a waste carrier and check where the waste has come from.
- If you are approached by someone who you think could be a scammer, contact the Environment Agency or Natural Resources Wales and Police immediately.
- It’s easy to be drawn in by offers of quick money but as they say, if it seems too good to be true, it is too good to be true! Always take time to consider a storage proposal before accepting it and check out the credentials of any potential customer.
If you have any questions regarding your legal obligations, call Wiser Environment on 01480 462 232.
