SITA UK has been ordered to pay £110,000 for breaching the conditions of its environmental permit at a landfill site in Surrey.

Redhill Magistrates Court ruled the recycling and resource management company also failed to comply with an Enforcement Notice for the site at Albury Landfill in Surrey.

It said SITA UK exceeded the landfill site’s leachate limit which was set out in the permit granted by the Environment Agency.

Leachate is the liquid that forms when waste degrades in landfill, which if not properly contained can escape the site and pollute groundwater.

There were eight leachate wells that were non-compliant with the permit requirement.

Neil Martin, Pollution Prevention and Control Officer at the Environment Agency said: “Although prosecution is the last resort, SITA UK left us with no choice but to take the matter to the courts.

“This shows how seriously we take these matters and demonstrates that we will not allow the environment to be put at risk as a consequence of not complying with our environmental permits.”