In August, Sunlight Service Group was fined £5,000 with £791.31 costs for allowing dirty laundry wash water to enter a water course, the Callow Brook in Birmingham.
The charge was brought by the Environmental Agency under Section 85 of the Water Resources Act 1999. It relates to an incident on August 29 last year when a member of the public reported that the brook looked grey and had soapsuds on the surface.
An Agency officer confirmed the report and traced the cause to the Sunlight site. A drainage gulley near a washing machine, which should have flowed into the foul sewer was flowing into the brook. An inspection found it had been blocked by some clothes – NHS nightgowns, a theatre gown and a shirt or blouse – similar to the kind of garments processed by Sunlight Sunlight pleaded guilty to the offence, but in mitigation claimed that, while the blockage was one of the causes, a more immediate cause was, that as a result, wash-water flowed in an unused part of the drainage system which failed.
It had subsequently carried out extensive remedial works to prevent further blockages in future.
LCN contacted Sunlight’s head office, but was told the company did not wish to comment.
