Wealthy execs hit with severe penalties for appalling acts along crucial waterway: 'Purely economically motivated

The men behind one of the U.K.'s largest illegal waste dumping offences have been sentenced for their crimes.

The two men and a waste company had previously pleaded guilty after dumping what was estimated at more than a million tons of waste at a conservation area in Northern Ireland, according to ENDS Report.

Paul Doherty and Gerry Farmer of Londonderry illegally dumped various forms of waste on a property alongside the River Faughan. The waterway is a source of drinking water for Derry, which has a population of around 85,000.

The dump is "considered to be one of the U.K.'s largest environmental crime scenes," according to the report.

The illegal disposal of the waste may have generated millions of dollars for Doherty's company, Campsie Sand & Gravel Ltd, and Farmer's company, City Industrial Waste Ltd, according to the BBC.

Doherty and Farmer received 12-month and 21-month sentences in custody, respectively. Judge Neil Rafferty KC described the offense as "a purely economically motivated environmental crime on an industrial scale," per the Derry Journal.

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Unfortunately, illegal dumping is fairly common, ranging from littering trash in parks to pouring oil in waterways. Depending on the severity, litterers can face fines or even jail time.

For example, a Texas man was arrested on felony charges for dumping thousands of pounds of trash alongside the road.

Improperly dumping trash poses significant environmental and health risks. Trash can easily contaminate waterways and soil, spreading harsh chemicals or bacteria. As trash breaks down, even in landfills, it releases methane, carbon dioxide, and other planet-warming gases into the air.

There are nearly 50 billion pieces of litter alongside roads and waterways in the United States alone, according to Keep America Beautiful's 2020 litter study. If all of the approximately 340 million Americans picked up roughly 150 pieces of litter, we could completely clean up the problem.