West Lancashire firm fined for polluting river with ice cream 14 July 2010 A dairy which turned the River Tawd into a ‘river of ice cream' has been fined £12,000.



Fredericks Dairies Limited were ordered to pay a fine and costs in a prosecution by the Environment Agency at Ormskirk Magistrates Court over the pollution incident which caused the river to turn a milky white colour.



The Skelmersdale company make a range of products including Cadbury Dairy Milk Sticks, Vimto Ice Lollies and Bassets Jelly Babies wobbly Lollies.



In June 2009, Environment Agency officers received complaints from the public that the river was a milky white colour.



The Environment Agency worked with United Utilities to investigate the drainage system, and traced the pollution to the surface water drains from the site operated by Fredericks.



A milky white effluent was identified in the firm's surface water drains and samples taken had an ice cream like smell.



Staff at Fredericks co-operated in the investigations, which found that part of the site used for production was wrongly connected to the surface water drain and not the foul sewer.



About 13,000 litres of wash water from the ice cream manufacturing was discharged into the river over an eight day period.



Fredericks Dairies undertook a prompt clean up of the surface water drains and ensured that the drain system was correctly linked to the foul sewer to prevent a recurrence of the pollution.



The water quality of the River Tawd has improved significantly since the company has diverted the drains.



Gareth Rogerson, environment officer for the Environment Agency said: “The Environment Agency responded to reports from members of the public to a number of pollution incidents on the River Tawd in the location of Pimbo Industrial Estate.



"Joint investigations with the help of United Utilities traced the pollutant to Fredericks Dairies. Due to the organic nature of the pollutant, the pollution caused a significant impact on the water quality of the river.



“If the Environment Agency hadn’t received reports from the public, this pollution could have been much more serious.”



A spokesman for Fredericks Dairies said: “We have operated from the East Pimbo industrial estate in Skelmersdale for over 30 years. During this time we have enjoyed an excellent environmental record at the site.



"However, on this occasion, we were made aware of a problem involving the complex network of drains beneath the estate and the discharge of wash water from the ice cream manufacturing process into the River Tawd.



"As soon as we were informed, we instigated our emergency procedures and are pleased that we were able to quickly contain the leak, and work with United Utilities and the Environment Agency in resolving the matter to everyone’s satisfaction, rectifying the drainage system so the pipe was re-routed and cleaned.



"Fredericks takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and is now using CCTV technology to inspect all drainage on site. In addition to this the company has undertaken a number of projects to reduce its waste and carbon footprint including installing a £50,000 Dicom system to reduce wet waste." By Henry James