Two waste companies have been fined £300 each for not correctly completing waste transfer notes.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) found that Tough Construction Limited, from Glasgow, and Robert Purvis Plant Hire Limited, from Lochgelly, failed to properly document 91 movements of controlled waste from a Falkirk housing development.

Waste transfer notes are important for providing an accurate record of waste movement, from production to disposal.

This is so regulators can ensure waste is being handled legally.

The notes should contain information about the type and quantity of waste, its origin, and where it will be treated or disposed of.

Calum McGregor, from SEPA’s environmental crime team, said: "Regulating the movement of waste is essential to ensure that it is taken to an appropriate disposal or treatment site and to prevent waste crime.

"Waste transfer notes are vital to tracking who has handled waste at every stage of the journey and how it has ultimately been disposed of, which is why they must be filled in accurately.

"This penalty should be a reminder to any business or individual working in the waste management industry that it is your responsibility to ensure you are compliant with your duty of care.

"That includes ensuring your staff understand what is required when completing required documentation."

From the 91 waste transfer notes checked, SEPA found that two did not include the date of the waste transfer.

58 notes did not specify the quantity of waste being transferred, and 69 did not adequately describe the place of transfer.

73 notes lacked sufficient detail on the waste type, composition, and quantity.

None of the notes contained the correct name of the transferor, their address, the postcode of the place of transfer, or whether the transferor was the producer or importer of the waste.

Also missing was the appropriate six-digit code in the European Waste Catalogue and the Standard Industrial Classification code that describes the business activity that produced the waste.

Evidence gathered by SEPA showed that Tough Construction Limited had been contracted by the housing developer to undertake groundworks, thereby producing the controlled waste removed from the site.

The transfer notes were completed by Robert Purvis Plant Hire Limited, the company collecting the waste at the time of each transaction, and signed by both parties.

SEPA can issue fixed monetary penalties (FMPs) for specified offences that have not caused environmental harm or have caused 'minimal' harm with no lasting effects or impacts on communities.