Firm fined over illegal fires

A WASTE company has been fined £1,650 for illegally burning large quantities of wood.

Caledonian Industrial Ltd, trading as Caleco Waste, admitted at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday it had disposed of waste wood, such as pellets and fencing, in contravention of its waste management licence. The incident happened at the firm’s plant at Eldin Industrial Estate, Loanhead, Midlothian.

Complaints were received from the public in December 2010 and when officials from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) visited, they found five fires, letting off a large plume of bad-smelling smoke. Sepa said it could have posed a risk to local people.