Proposed changes by UK Government against waste crime are a good start. However, Government must go further still, it’s claimed, after Defra (the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) launched two consultations.
They cover a proposed reform to the ‘carrier, broker, dealer‘ system; a change from a registration to a permit-based system, with background checks needed to operate as a waste carrier, broker or dealer and with a view to regulators enforcing against non-compliant operators. Also proposed is digital waste tracking. The consultation asks about the practical sides: how to record what information, how to go about enforcement, and how to charge for the costs of the service.
Each consultation closes on April 15.
At Defra, Environment Minister Jo Churchill said: “Waste criminals show complete disregard for our communities, the environment and the taxpayer. We have disrupted these rogue operators by giving extra powers to the Environment Agency, with nearly 1,000 illegal waste sites now being shut down each year, while our new Joint Unit for Waste Crime is successfully disrupting criminal gangs, for example, prosecuting fly tippers illegally dumping hundreds of tonnes of hazardous waste across the countryside.
“But there is more to do. Reforming the licensing system will clamp down on abuse of the system and new mandatory digital waste tracking will greatly improve transparency in the sector and make it easier for householders to check that their waste is being disposed of legally. Together, these reforms will stop criminals abusing the waste system and make it easier to prosecute offenders successfully.”
Comment
At the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), President Mark Tufnell said: “On average, each incident of fly-tipping costs the landowner almost £1,000 to clean up, and in the most extreme cases can cost up to £100,000. Two thirds of all farmers and landowners have at some stage been a victim. After many years of lobbying from the Country Land and Business Association, the Government is beginning to recognise the appalling harm fly-tipping is doing to the countryside. These measures are a good start. However, Government must go further still concentrating on increasing prosecutions and imposing heavy fines on convicted offenders.”
Background
Defra point out that fly-tipping, illegal dumping, and the illegal export of waste abroad can blight landscapes, harm the environment, and pose a risk to human health. In 2018/19, waste crime cost the English economy an estimated £924m. Local government dealt with nearly 1.13 million fly-tipping incidents in the last year.
For an example of a court case after a joint investigation by the Environment Agency and Newcastle City Council, visit the Newcastle website. See also the Environment Agency website. See also the work in south London by Dartford Council with the contractor Kingdom.
Photo by Mark Rowe: dumped mattress, Hammersmith, west London.
