William Noble was sentenced to a Community Payback Order of 160 hours of unpaid work to be completed within 9 months at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on 1 June for illegally keeping waste vehicles and other waste at a site in Kirkcaldy, according to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

Officers from SEPA attended the site, at the junction of Denburn Road and Smeaton Road, on various occasions between 3 December 2014 and 19 August 2015 to assess compliance with the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

During an inspection on 3 December 2014 SEPA officers estimated that, despite Mr Noble not holding a Waste Management Licence for this site, he kept around 149 motor vehicles, 4 car transporters and 16 skips containing mixed wastes, waste tyres and waste metals on site.

SEPA served a Section 59 Enforcement Notice on Mr Noble on 14 January 2015 to remove the waste from the site by 30 April 2015, however SEPA officers witnessed that waste was still present on site after this date. On 19th August 2015 the number of motor vehicles had reduced to 35. In addition there were four car transporters, six skips of mixed wastes including green wastes, namely shrub and tree cuttings, cardboard, wood, plastics, soils, rubber, textiles and metals and four skips of waste tyres.

SEPA reported the matter to the Procurator Fiscal.

Judith Moore, SEPA Unit Manager for the Fife area, said:

“William Noble would be required to have a Waste Management Licence in order to keep waste vehicles on site. However, Mr Noble stored vehicles at this site without the necessary infrastructure or procedures in place to protect the environment.

“There was a significant risk of vermin at the site due to the presence of skips containing mixed household waste, and a risk of further fires due to the presence of combustible material.

“The surrounding area including residential properties, the hospital and any businesses could have been affected by the smoke and plumes resulting from any fires at the site.

“Despite SEPA having held discussions with Mr Noble, and taking enforcement action, he continued to illegally keep waste at the site. He has also undercut legitimate operators which have taken the steps necessary to store their waste properly.”