Hugh Corey, 70, from Hannahstown was given suspended sentences at Laganside Crown Court on Thursday, 01 December.
Between August 2011 to February 2014, officers from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) visited the home of Mr Corey where a large quantity of controlled waste had been deposited and was being kept on site without the required waste licence.
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Samples taken at the site showed the waste was polluting nature. Investigating officers identified over 4,000 tonnes of mixed waste on site, The waste included plastics, wood, metals, textiles, carpet, tarmac, plasterboard, construction and demolition wastes and decomposing wastes. The site also contained a number of skips holding household waste. The defendant was a previous skip hire operator.
A spokesperson from NIEA said: "This is a significant case where thousands of tonnes of waste have been deposited on land without the proper authorisation and in circumstances where pollution was likely to happen. It represents the illegal burying of over 330 commercial bin lorry loads of mixed waste without any consideration for the environment, in order to avoid the charges associated with proper disposal. It also demonstrates that such activity will be vigorously investigated by NIEA's Environmental Crime Unit."
(CD/LM)
