Crossmaglen man given suspended sentence for waste offences
Date published:
Eugene McEntee 53, of Drummuckavall Road, Crossmaglen was sentenced today at Newry Crown Court for breaches of waste legislation. He was given 18 months imprisonment, suspended for two years for these waste offences. The offences related to the unauthorised keeping of controlled waste at the site on the Alley Road, Crossmaglen, controlled by Mr McEntee. A number of similar charges have been left on the books relating to the offending.
Officers of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) visited a site located at Alley Road, Crossmaglen in November 2019 where they uncovered significant quantities of buried waste. The mixed waste included such items as glass, food packaging, plastic, timber, metals and carpet together with other waste associated with waste treatment facilities called Trommel Fines. The Trommel Fines consisted of small pieces of waste such as metals, plastics, glass, textiles, glass and ceramics. Samples taken from this waste showed that it was actively polluting the land. The site did not have a license from the NIEA to keep or treat controlled waste.
In 2024, the site was remediated. This involved the excavation, treatment and removal of the polluting waste from the site. Information provided by the Defendant showed that approximately 3,696 tonnes of waste was removed from the site and disposed of at an authorised facility. The costs of the remediation were in exceedance of £130,000.
An NIEA spokesperson said: “This represents a significant positive outcome insofar as the law has been upheld and a conviction secured. However, importantly, the polluting waste has also been removed at the expense of the defendant. This means that the environment has been protected without significant cost to the taxpayer.”
Mr McEntee pleaded guilty to two waste charges under The Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order.
Notes to editors:
1. Eugene McEntee pled guilty under the following Article of the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997:
One x Article 4(1)(b) relating to: the keeping of controlled waste or knowingly keeping controlled waste in or on any land except under and in accordance with a waste management licence.
One x Article 4(1)(c) relating to: the keeping of controlled waste in a manner likely to cause pollution or harm to human health.
2. If charges are ‘left on the books’ they can be reactivated at a later stage, subject to permission from the Crown Court or the Court of Appeal.
3. Waste Fines are the end process of the recycling process carried out by a Waste Management company and consist of small pieces of waste such as plastics, metals, fabrics and other such waste too small to be recycled any further. It is considered uneconomic to process this waste any further with the resulting waste deemed necessary to be disposed of in landfill.
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