Large-scale waste sites are fuelled by serious, organised crime, and we need to use the full force of the law to tackle it and root it out at source. So said Dame Angela Eagle, made Environment Secretary by the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, moved from being Home Office minister with responsibility for the security industry.
She said: “Communities have been subjected to horrendous conditions and denied the pride they deserve in the places they call home. This ends now.ย We are cleaning up sites, but we are also stopping the cycle, driving faster prevention and disruption, better intelligence, and stronger coordination across the system.”
West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester will be the first areas with new region-led approaches to waste crime, Labour says. Three more sites have now been identified for clearance, subject to feasibility assessments: Power Station Road, Isle of Sheppey, Kent; Aymer Close, Runnymede, Surrey; and Midland Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Environment Agency Chief Executive Philip Duffy said:โฏ “We know how much damage illegal waste sites do to the communities that live near them.โฏโฏBy strengthening our intelligence and analysis capability, and working more closely with regional partners, Environment Agency teams across the country will be better placed to stay well ahead of the criminals behind this activity and support the recovery of the places we call home.”
Comments
Promised are use of drones, a bigger role for the police and the National Crime Agency, more Environment Agency officers on the frontline, and a rise in fines.
Gavin Lane, Country Land and Business Association (CLA) President, said: “We have argued for years that organised waste gangs should be treated like organised criminals, so stronger police involvement, better intelligence sharing and seizing the vehicles and assets they rely on are all steps in the right direction. But our members have heard promises of crackdowns before, and fines and new powers will only deter criminals if they believe they will actually be caught. We will judge this by what happens on the ground, from prosecutions to vehicle seizures and the confiscation of criminal assets.
โThere is still a glaring injustice for farmers who can wake up to a lorry-load of waste dumped on their land and then be left paying to clear up somebody elseโs crime. Innocent landowners should not be left carrying that cost.โ
Speaking for the Local Government Association (LGA), Arooj Shah, LGA Neighbourhoods Committee Chair, said: “Illegal waste operations cause serious environmental harm, blight communities and leave taxpayers footing enormous cleanโup bills. Increasing frontline enforcement and raising fines are positive steps towards making waste crime a genuinely highโrisk, lowโreward activity. Councils work hard to try and protect communities from waste criminals, and this announcement will bolster existing local efforts to achieve that.โ
London
Fly-tipping in London was featured in the September 2026 edition of Professional Security Magazine. A London Assembly motion has called for urgent action on dealing with illegal waste sites and for a permanent clean-up of Arnoldโs Field and Launders Lane, Rainham sites in particular.
Photo by Mark Rowe; east London.
