Waste mountain company guilty over 2000-ton rubbish mound

The eyesore at Rowanoak Waste Services in Shaw Lane, just off the Dudley Southern Bypass, attracted complaints about the stench, noise and pollution.

Dust covered vehicles while debris blocked guttering and affected nearby factories, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

Enforcement notices were slapped on the firm but its directors took no notice, touting for business when banned from taking in more waste.

The company either neglected deadlines or wilfully chose to ignore them, said Mr Richard Bradley, prosecuting on behalf of the Environment Agency.

He told how employees at nearby businesses described the smell as “stomach churning.”

The site was abandoned in 2016 with a significant amount of waste removed in 2017.

Rowanoak Waste Services Limited based at Kingswinford and 60-year-old director Kevin Allan of Roundway Down, Perton, were found guilty on all counts of failures to make sure the Shaw Road site was operated in accordance with the conditions of permit and compliance notices.

Randle Hawkins, 59, from Quarry Brow, Upper Gornal, was convicted of non-compliance with a revocation notice but cleared of four other charges relating to the breach of permit conditions and enforcement notice.

Mak Waste Ltd of Bloxwich and its 28-year-old director Brian McIntosh, from Adams Hill, Bartley Green had earlier admitted their part in the failure to comply with the conditions of the permit.

Edward Venables, formerly Boulton, aged 28, from Adams Hill, Brierley Hill, also a director of Mak Waste, was found not guilty of all three charges against him.

Those either convicted or who pleaded guilty will be sentenced at a date to be fixed.

An Environment Agency officer involved with the investigation said: “Allan, McIntosh and Hawkins have shown a complete disregard for the local community, subjecting local businesses to months of misery.”