A Tauranga tyre recycling boss who made an estimated $147,000-$189,000 profit from illegally stockpiling tyres in a Te Awamutu quarry has been fined $21,000.
Owen Mcdonald Douglas, the sole shareholder and business manager of Tauranga company Tyre Disposal Ltd, was found guilty when he appeared in Tauranga District Court of breaching
an abatement notice. His company was also convicted.
Environment Waikato had laid 10 charges against Douglas in May for Resource Management Act breaches and two against the company. Douglas pleaded guilty to the charges, the Waikato Times reported.
He had a resource consent to store 20,000 tyres at a disused quarry on Bailey Rd, southeast of Te Awamutu.
Environment Waikato estimated 86,000 tyres were at the site, but agreed a figure of 35,000-45,000 to enable the prosecution to go ahead. The $147,000-$189,000 figure put up by Environment Waikato was based on its formula to determine the profit he would have expected to have made on that number of tyres.
Using the larger number of tyres, 86,000, Douglas could have made a $352,000 profit under the formula. The council said the stockpile posed serious fire and environmental threats, with chemical contaminants likely to enter the nearby Wahawerawera Stream, groundwater and surface water. There was also a danger of air contamination from smoke.
Since getting resource consent for the site in May 2004, Douglas had invoiced Bay of Plenty and Waikato companies, including Beaurepaires and Dunlop, for collecting used tyres.
The consent was granted on the basis the tyres were to be scrapped and incinerated as industrial fuel.
During 10 visits by the council over two years, Douglas was found to be partly or entirely in breach of every consent condition. These included keeping tyres in separate piles, building a bund and keeping adequate water dams - all designed to prevent fire.
Enforcement officers who followed Douglas around Mount Maunganui and Tauranga on May 26 - two weeks after the charges were laid - found he continued to collect tyres in a long wheel base truck from four premises. He was helped by an unidentified male.
