A landfill operator has been fined £20,000 for failing to deal with an excess of a potentially polluting liquid at its Perthshire site.
SITA UK admitted two offences of breaching the conditions of its environmental permit for its landfill site at Binn Landfill, Glenfarg.
They pleaded guilty to failing to control the levels of leachate, a potentially polluting liquid which could cause harmful effects on groundwater and surface water.
Landfills may produce leachate that has elevated concentrations of contaminants such as ammoniacal nitrogen, heavy metals and organic compounds.
To protect surrounding resources, however, such sites have specific limits set on the levels of leachate that can be reached.
Perth Sheriff Court heard that within three leachate wells at the Binn Landfill site, levels were in excess of the two metre limit for four months between December 2012 and April 2013.
The company, which operates at more than 300 locations throughout the UK, admitted that between December 2012 and June 2013 they failed to ensure that accumulation at the low point of each distinct leachate collection system was kept below two metres depth.
SITA UK, based at SITA House, Grenfell Road, Maidenhead, also pleaded guilty to a charge that, on seven occasions between January 2013 and March 2013, they failed to notify the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) that leachate levels had exceeded two metres depth and failed to take effective steps to minimise the malfunction and reduce the levels of leachate.
Peter Gray QC, defending, stated: “The breaches did not lead to any appreciable environmental damage.”
Sheriff Simon Collins said: “The work may be complex and challenging but this is the work this company has carried out over many years on many sites.
“This created a risk of harm rather than actual harm but if it had materialised harm was likely to be significant.”
Sepa senior environment protection officer Calum McGregor said: “The two-metre limit for the leachate is required to ensure that the base and sides of the landfill provide a barrier between the landfill and the environment.
“By failing to maintain the level below two metres, SITA UK put the environment at risk.”