Staffordshire firms fined over wood 'posing serious fire risk'

The Environment Agency released an image relating to Lodgewood Recycling

A director and three recycling companies have been fined over £28,000, after sites stored excessive wood that "posed serious fire and health risks", the Environment Agency said.

At one site, stockpiles were "so large that there was no space to quarantine waste in the event of a fire".

Robert Moody ran the firms, Berkswell, Hollybush and Lodgewood Recycling, in Staffordshire.

The firms and the director were sentenced by magistrates in Dudley.

Moody admitted failing to ensure his Shareshill-based companies complied with environmental permits, and the 50-year-old was ordered to pay £22,170.

Berkswell and Lodgewood pleaded guilty to one charge between 2017 and 2018, and Hollybush admitted a charge between 2017 and 2019.

At one site, it was estimated there was in excess of 5,000 tonnes, rather than the permitted amount of 1,620 tonnes, the agency said.

Both shredded and unshredded wood were mixed in the stockpiles, "increasing the potential for self-combustion".

At another site, "huge stockpiles" of waste wood were situated on an area that had "no concrete surfacing to prevent pollution of the ground".

Officers found that elsewhere stockpiles of wood "were so large that there was no space to quarantine waste in the event of a fire and insufficient fire breaks".

The Environment Agency said sites "posed a significant environmental threat"

Sites "stored excessive amounts of wood, for a prolonged period which posed serious fire and health risks".

The companies were each fined £5,400 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £170 and a contribution towards the Environment Agency's costs of £7,500.

Moody was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge and a contribution towards the agency's costs of £10,000.