Government steps up action on waste criminals

The Environment Agency will be given more resources to fund the cost of policing waste crime, with greater powers to issue enforcement notices and large fines 

The government has said it will crackdown on ‘cowboy waste operators’ to tackle the rise in fly-tipping. The crime has risen by a fifth since 2018/19, with the number of prosecutions falling by the same amount. 

Councils will work with the police to identify, seize and crush vehicles of waste criminals, while drones and mobile CCTV cameras will be deployed to identify cars and vans belonging to fly-tippers so they can be destroyed.   

Any criminals caught transporting and dealing with waste illegally will also now face up to five years in prison under new legislation.

Ministers have launched a review aimed at cutting the red tape that prevents councils from seizing and crushing vehicles. Councils currently have to bear the cost of seizing and storing vehicles but under new plans being consider by ministers, fly-tippers will cover this cost.

The Environment Agency will carry out identity and criminal record checks on operators in the sector, and it will be handed more resources to fund the cost of policing the industry through permits, boosting their powers and cutting costs for taxpayers. The reforms will also give them more power to revoke permits, issue enforcement notices and hefty fines.  

Philip Duffy, Chief Executive, Environment Agency, said, “Waste crime is toxic. Criminals’ thoughtless actions harm people, places, and the economy, blighting our communities and disrupting legitimate businesses. 

“At the Environment Agency, we’re determined to bring these criminals to justice through tough enforcement action and prosecutions.”

“Making it easier for councils to use existing powers to seize vehicles involved in fly-tipping is helpful, provided they can recover the full cost [from perpetrators].” 

Cllr Adam Hug, Environment Spokesperson for the Local Government Association (LGA), said: “Making it easier for councils to use existing powers to seize vehicles involved in fly-tipping is helpful, provided they can recover the full cost of doing so from perpetrators. 

“Councils are working tirelessly to counter thousands of fly-tipping incidents every year, including by prosecuting criminal gangs, but the burden of proof is high and fines often fail to match the severity of the offence committed.”

Hug urged the government to review sentencing guidelines for fly-tipping so that offenders are given bigger fines for more serious offences to act as a deterrent, alongside maximum five-year sentences. 

“Manufacturers should also contribute to the costs to councils of clear up, by providing more take-back services so people can hand in sofas, old furniture and mattresses when they buy new ones,” he said.

Victoria Vyvyan, President of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) said, “Some local authorities are already seizing vehicles of fly-tippers, but last year two councils accounted for more than 60% of seizures so these powers need to be used much more widely to send a serious message to these environmental criminals.

“The CLA is supportive of closer co-operation and information sharing between the police, local authorities and the Environment Agency to help them identify and prosecute fly-tippers.”

The number of fly-tipping incidents recorded on public land has reached 1.1 million a year in England, and the CLA believes the true figure to be “far higher”.