Powerday slapped with hefty fine…

Company found guilty of illegally storing asbestos and hazardous waste.

One of the biggest waste-management companies in the South-East has been given a record fine over illegal treatment of hazardous material including asbestos at its huge Willesden depot.

Powerday, run by London Irish rugby club co-owner Mick Crossan, disposes of waste for major clients including Barratt Homes, Berkeley Homes and Carillion.

The firm was ordered to pay more than £1.2 million at ­Harrow Crown Court for offences related to two separate cases which, ­combined, saw more than 17,000 tonnes of waste deposited and stored ­illegally. The record fine came under tough new sentencing guidelines for environmental crimes.

The first case saw Powerday storing more than 10 tonnes of hazardous waste for disposal at the Willesden site in breach of its licence.

The Environment Agency said this included asbestos, contaminated concrete and treated wood which had been taken to the Willesden centre from building sites across London and a power station in Nottinghamshire.

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