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The owner of the former Blackpole Recycling site said a new Environment Agency camera was installed inside the premises around two weeks ago, in addition to the one already at the gate.
However, the Environment Agency declined to comment. It is known to have installed security measures at the site, including a camera and concrete blocks at the entrance.
The site owner, who was not running the company when it went into administration, said he had also installed three of his own security cameras inside Blackpole Recycling (Unit 100) in Worcester, at the same time as the Environment Agency camera was installed, as part of what he called ‘beefed up security measures’ which he said were operating 24 hours a day.
“We had more cameras put on the building to secure more evidence,” he said.
Joint Administrators KR8 Advisory were appointed on March 5 to manage the insolvency case involving Blackpole Recycling which had been run by directors Paul Edwards and Martin Peyton.
However, a fortnight before that appointment, there were reports of illegal tipping at the yard at Unit 100, Blackpole Trading Estate West.
The Environment Agency sealed off the site entrance on February 27 using the blocks, serving the operator with a restriction notice, which prohibits access to the site due to the risk of serious pollution.
A witness, who did not want to be named, said tipping began on February 20 when rubbish was dumped between two units.
They said someone used a forklift to move the blocks to gain access the same day the Environment Agency installed them at the entrance.
It is understood that the person used keys to open the gate. But, since then, the EA has put its own locks on the gates.
The EA issued a suspension notice on February 17 due to piles of wood and plasterboard exceeding safe limits and a failure to maintain fire breaks.
Meanwhile, firefighters were at Blackpole Recycling for three days on March 7, 8 and 9.
The EA attended on March 7 and saw smoke emanating from rubbish piled in the yard.
Environment Agency inspections took place on February 23 and 25, confirming new waste had been brought to the site, pushed up into a pile around six metres high, both inside and outside of the main shed.
The EA’s actions are ‘part of wider active investigations into waste crime, fraud and money laundering in the Midlands’, a spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said in a previous statement: “Waste criminals are damaging our countryside, communities and economy.
“Investigations are ongoing at Blackpole Recycling and where breaches are found, we will not hesitate to take enforcement action.”
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