A RECYCLING firm has been fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £2,250 costs after pleading guilty to an environmental offence involving 3,500 tonnes of glass and mixed waste stored on a Newport site.

Eurokey Recycling Limited, which has its headquarters in Leicestershire, was prosecuted under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 after the waste was found at a site at Bird Port, Eastern Dry Dock, Corporation Road, Newport. in June last year.

Aled Watkins, prosecuting for Natural Resources Wales told District Judge Martin Brown at Newport magistrates' court that "a large volume of glass and mixed waste was deposited and appeared to be stored on land there."

It was subsequently discovered that the waste had been shipped to Poland in January 2014, but had been rejected and sent back to Newport.

In July last year, assurances had been given that the waste would be removed, but by September 2015 nothing had been done.

A statutory notice was issued requiring its removal by February 10 this year, but again despite assurances, nothing was done.

Mr Watkins said there had been some concern about the waste and what might happen as a result of its being there, for instance with regards to drainage, and that is why such sites have to be regulated.

Chris Badger, defending Eurokey, said the material has now been completely removed and the job was 75 per cent done before the start of the court proceedings in the summer.

He said the removal had cost Eurokey around £65,000, as it had to pay another company to take the waste.

"Environmental exemptions exist for low risk waste activities. Ordinarily, it is straightforward to register," he said.

"This waste was originally stored under an exemption before export. The problem arose following its return from Poland."

He added that port authorities had decided to move the waste from the quayside to a back storage area, at a cost to Eurokey, which did not want this to happen but was unable to prevent it.

Other companies had previously been allowed to store waste there, but the appropriate permission was not in place for Eurokey. The company also did not have the systems in place to assure itself that the appropriate permission was in place.

Delays in moving the waste were put down to difficulties in finding another company to take it, given that prices for such materials had fallen.