Pollution fines increase for careless contractors

The Environment Agency’s sixth annual report on the environmental performance of businesses in England and Wales in 2003 shows that the number of pollution incidents from industry overall was down 12% on 2002 and by 43% over the past two years.

However, the construction and demolition sectors have once again failed to demonstrate responsible management, it said, and were to blame for 3% of all pollution incidents.

The number of incidents has leapt by a quarter, mainly due to development in the south-east of England, while those caused by solid waste doubled.

The number of firms fined more than £10,000 rose from four to five (see box).

And a director of London-based Derry Construction was ordered to pay £17,000 for storing 160,000m3 of construction waste, equivalent to six Olympic- sized swimming pools. He was also convicted of burning waste illegally and storing oil in tanks without sufficient bunding.

The report concluded: "The volume of waste produced and the means of its disposal are of great concern as they are set to increase with the projected growth in construction, including the extra million homes needed in southern England.

"A key recommendation of the recent Sustainable Buildings Task Force was for contractors to use site waste management plans. This should help to rule out the pollution and flytipping incidents while encouraging waste minimisation."

Two companies, however, were singled out for praise.

BAe Systems Environmental worked to minimise the environmental impact of its work, improving 160ha of contaminated land at the former Royal Ordnance factory in Chorley, Lancashire. Some 300,000m3 of demolition rubble was reused, saving £2.7m. Topsoil for landscaping the site was manufactured on site using green waste and sewage sludge, rather than excavating soil from other places. As well as minimising waste and quarrying, the reuse of materials resulted in 250,000 fewer lorry journeys.

Lafarge, the biggest cement manufacturer in the world, has reduced emissions after investing £3m in a new bag filter at its Aberthaw plant, which replaced old and inefficient equipment. In 2003, total particulate matter and fine particles released to air were two thirds less than in 2002.