A Belfast skip business has been fined for waste offences.

Ace Bates Kip Hire and its former directors, north Belfast brothers Thomas and Gary Bates, were ordered to pay a £200,000 confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 for depositing and keeping controlled waste on lands at Ballyutoag Road, Belfast in contravention of the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997.

In addition, the company was fined £40,000 and the Bates brothers were each fined £1,000. The Bates brothers were ordered to pay the confiscation order within three months, or face one year's imprisonment in default.

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An order was also placed on the defendants to pay costs of £100,000.

Between 2007 and 2011, Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) officers investigated the unauthorised dumping and burning of waste on premises at Ballyutoag Road, Belfast, owned by Thomas and Gary Bates.

No waste management licence existed for the site where NIEA officers discovered significant volumes of mixed controlled waste had been treated. In addition, waste had been buried in lands belonging to the defendants and on neighbouring lands.

This waste included construction and demolition wastes, plastics, wood, metals, cardboard, carpet, textiles plastic bin bags and food waste.

Repeated incidents of waste burning were also observed to have taken place on the site during 2007 and 2008.

(CD/LM)