A transport company must pay £167,587.13 for delivering controlled waste to an illegal site in Long Bennington, Lincolnshire.
The sentence imposed on Sheffield’s Fletcher Plant Limited is the latest result from a major investigation by the Environment Agency.
At Nottingham Crown Court on Friday 8 August 2025, the company was fined £80,000, ordered to pay costs of £50,000 and a confiscation order of £37,587.13.
The company had previously been found guilty in June 2024 after a trial of failing to comply with duty of care regulations for controlled waste between 1 October 2019 and 1 May 2020.
Named Operation Lord, the investigation saw Environment Agency officers spend months building evidence of the illegal waste site. The findings led to 12 people and 1 company, Fletcher Plant, being charged, of which 10 pleaded guilty. Following an 8 week trial which concluded on 28 June 2024, the remaining 3 defendants were found guilty.
So far, 11 people have been sentenced to a total of 14 years’ imprisonment for their involvement in this illegal operation. The court was told that intelligence gathered revealed lorry-loads of shredded waste were regularly being accepted onto the site, the size of a football pitch.
It was calculated that Fletcher Plant, over a period of 6 months, organised the transport of over 1,400 tonnes of controlled waste.
The judge accepted that the company did not know the site was operating illegally, but its officers had a legal requirement to carry out a duty of care.
The company said it had built a good reputation and it was the first time it had been prosecuted in over 40 years. A new management team had also been put in place.
Peter Stark, enforcement team leader for the Environment Agency in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, said: “This sentence shows that all businesses involved in the removal of controlled waste must make all reasonable checks to ensure that waste is being dealt with appropriately and not illegally.
“If simple and continued due diligence checks had been made by Fletcher Plant they would have flagged up that the site operators did not have the appropriate authorisations.
“Due diligence checks are not something that should only occur prior to starting a contract, they should occur regularly during a contract.
“The duty of care in relation to waste is a legal requirement under Environmental Protection Act 1990.
“Anyone who suspects illegal waste activity should report it to our 24-hour hotline on 0800 80 70 60, or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
