Today at 3:35 PM • Edited today at 3:51 PM
It is a sky-high penalty, ‘draconian’ according to metal trader Gerrits from Helmond. On Tuesday, the administrative judge considered the province’s penalty, which could amount to as much as one million euros. The aim: the accelerated removal of a batch of so-called ‘shredder residue’ from the Gerrits site, after two fires last year.
Shredder residue is waste that remains after shredding, for example, car wrecks. Gerrits had 5,700 tons of it, something that the company said was allowed according to the permit. But the province wanted the party gone, even before the fires. A penalty payment was already pending, but after last year’s fires, the amount was suddenly multiplied to a huge amount of up to one million euros, according to the company.
The batch had to be removed quickly, within months, because the province was afraid of new fires and the environmental consequences if rainwater fell on it. But Gerrits thought the province’s demands were too strict. The company was unable to dispose of the tons of waste so quickly.
“Nobody wants to spend this on a fine.”
Still, the administrative judge wondered why the company submitted a plan in February, before the fires, to remove the waste within six months. That was only a few weeks off the province’s deadline. According to Gerrits, the disposal was disappointing because they could not dispose of it with other processors. The province denied this. The two companies she was in contact with could accept 1,000 tons per week. And if that doesn’t work, there are other companies.
According to Gerrits, the shredder residue has now been completely removed, but there is still a batch of ‘processing material’ left. Gerrits wants to extract metal from that. But according to the province it is different. The remaining batch is also indeed shredder residue. And that is why it is time to collect the penalty. Quite a challenge for the company. “No one wants to spend this on a fine,” said the financial director.
“No insight into money for competing company.”
The question remains to what extent Gerrits can pay the penalty. The collection of the fine took place behind closed doors in court: highly unusual in a public courtroom. But in the room was a note taker from what Gerrits described as a ‘competing company’. And he was not allowed to gain insight into the cash flows at the company. Because the judge believed that the legal process should also be done properly and that Gerrits should not feel hindered, the case continued behind closed doors.
The province is still afraid of fires or heat in the metal trade. That is why the remaining batch must also be removed quickly. The penalty should provide an incentive. The penalty is high because it is based on the costs of removal, which is more than 800,000 euros. According to Gerrits, everything is done to prevent fire and scalding with temperature measurements and a 24-hour fire watch.
The verdict in the case will follow within six weeks.
Gerrits was the owner of the scrap metal company AVI in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. A major fire broke out there in October 2021. It is suspected that the fire was caused by a lithium battery. The fire left the entire area in smoke and fog. Mayor Mikkers announced after the fire that he wanted the company to leave the city. Gerrits has now sold the company.
