Record jail time handed to waste criminals

The number of people sent to prison for committing waste crimes trebled between 2010 and 2011, whilst the amount of money paid in fines increased by 80%, according to an Environment Agency report published today (September 3).

Cracking down on waste crime, the Agencys first annual waste crime report, reveals that 16 people were handed custodial sentences in 2011, more than three times the amount in 2010, which saw five custodial sentences handed out.

The report also shows that the number of prosecutions for illegal waste activity rose from the 2010 figure of 280, to 335 in 2011.

The amount of fines paid in 2011 came to 1,700,032, with the largest fine amounting to 170,000.This shows a substantial increase on 2009 when the fines for waste crimes totalled 1,016,158, and the highest fine was 75,000. In addition, the courts ordered a total of 2.2 million worth of assets to be confiscated from criminals, who had profited from the illegal activity.

Taskforce

In 2011/12 the Agency spent 17.4 million tackling waste crime, 6% of its total spend on environmental protection. This is set to increase, as over the next year and a half the Environment Agency is set to invest a further 4.9 million on a taskforce to tackle illegal waste sites (see letsrecycle.com story).

By the end of March 2012, the Agency said it was aware of 1175 illegal waste sites in England Wales. 32% of these sites were for construction and demolition waste, 23% involved mixed household or commercial waste and 22% featured end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) and vehicle parts.

Other forms of waste handled at the illegal wastes included: waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE); hazardous waste; scrap metal; and tyres.

In 2011/12 the Agency stopped illegal activities at 759 sites. 670 were shut down, 28 moved into legal compliance and 61 were given an exemption to operate.

Environment secretary Caroline Spelman said: Illegal waste sites are a blight on our communities which I am determined to root out. The new Illegal Waste Site Taskforce funded by Defra means these criminals have nowhere to hide and we will be relentless in tracking them down. These criminals should know we are coming for them and they will feel the full force of the law.

Offenders

Commenting on the report, Andrew Higham, head of the Agencys national environmental crime team, said: Waste crime can cause pollution, pose risks to peoples health and undercut legitimate businesses. Weve stepped up the fight and we are increasingly seeing waste offenders being made to pay for their crimes.

But we are not complacent and there is more to do particularly around cracking down on illegal waste sites. Our new Taskforce will help us break this cycle. However, we cant do it on our own. We need everyone to play their part in helping to tackle waste crime.

The Agency also added that exports poses one of the biggest challenges, as it is difficult to know how much waste is illegally exported from England and Wales.

Priorities

Going forward, the Agency said it will be focusing on demolition and construction waste. Its other priorities include:

Reduce the number of illegal waste sites;
Understanding the scale of illegal waste exports and reduce the size of the problem;
Reduce illegal dumping of waste;
Target repeat offenders; and,
Encourage waste producers to take responsibility.

Wastecrime prosecutions from 2009-11