Director prosecuted after repeated environmental permit breaches at Bagillt waste site

A former company director has been sentenced after operating a waste transfer site in Flintshire in breach of its environmental permit and failing to comply with a regulatory suspension notice.

On Friday 14 August 2026, Oliver Kirkbride, former director of GTR Aggregates & Recycling Ltd and subsequently Think Aggregates & Recycling Ltd, was sentenced after pleading guilty to offences relating to the operation of a waste transfer site at Dee Bank Industrial Estate, Bagillt.

The prosecution, brought by Natural Resources Wales (NRW), followed a prolonged period of non-compliance at the site and repeated efforts by NRW officers to secure improvements and bring operations back within the requirements of the environmental permit.

The site had an extensive history of regulatory breaches, including exceeding permitted waste quantities, accepting waste types not authorised by the permit, including hazardous waste, and operating with inadequate site drainage arrangements.

Despite interventions by NRW officers and actions taken by the companies to address the issues, compliance improvements were short-lived and further breaches continued to occur.

As a result of ongoing concerns, NRW imposed both partial and full suspensions of the site's environmental permit. However, waste activities continued in breach of the suspension notice. During the period in which the site was suspended, two waste fires also occurred.

Kirkbride was also found to have obstructed NRW officers in the exercise of their duties by changing passwords during the execution of a search warrant.

The court imposed a £500 fine, a 12-month community order and 50 hours of unpaid work.

NRW ultimately revoked the environmental permit following continued failures to comply with its conditions and waste operations at the site at Dee Bank Industrial Estate, Bagillt have now ceased.

Carys Williams, Team Leader for Waste Regulation at Natural Resources Wales, said:

"Environmental permits are not just a legal requirement. They uphold standards that are essential to protect people and our environment. They ensure waste is managed safely and legally.

"This case demonstrates that anyone handling waste in a manner that does not comply with an environmental permit poses real risks to the environment, which in this case was evident from the waste fires that took place at the site.

"Operating without a permit or cutting corners undercuts legitimate businesses that invest in compliance. It creates unfair competition and increases environmental and public health risks."