The Environment Agency has revealed that it has imposed fines and costs totalling £580,000 for waste crime up to September this year.
It has also closed 518 illegal waste sites and brought 32 prosecutions against waste criminals in that time in England.
With an estimated cost of £1 billion in England alone, the Environment Agency has been working with police to tackle crimes including fly-tipping, environmental permit breaches, money laundering and more.
The Government is also seeking to beef up the powers that regulators and local authorities have including giving councils powers to impose bigger fines for littering and fly-tipping. It is also seeking to reform carriers, brokers and dealers system to improve regulation. In early 2024 the Environment Agency will launch a new team to tackle money laundering in the waste industry.
Environment Agency enforcement & investigations manager Emma Viner said: “Waste criminals’ toxic actions put us all in danger every time they break the law, which is why we need the help of everyone in the waste sector to drive them out of business.
“Just a quarter of waste crimes are reported to the Environment Agency, making it more difficult to know when and where we need to act. So, if you know or suspect illegal waste activity is taking place, you should tell us and we can continue our work to stop rogue operators and organised criminals in their tracks and force them to face justice.”
The Environment Agency recommends reporting known or suspected illegal waste activity anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or at https://crimestoppers-uk.org
