The head of the Environment Agency (EA) has told a House of Lords committee hearing that the system for tackling waste crime is not working.
EA chief executive Philip Duffy told the Lords environment committee that obstruction of the justice system does not occur waste crime.
“(In terms of) the severity of the penalties, the likelihood of being caught, and the speed it takes to get through the criminal justice system – it’s too slow, it’s too weak, and it’s too uncertain,” he said.
Mr Duffy said increases in landfill tax rates, and the cost of recycling, were a cause for concern in tackling waste crime.
There is also evidence of major organized crime gangs “infiltrating the UK waste sector”, he said, and pointed to criminality within legitimate waste companies for the thousands of tonnes of waste seen at sites such as Bickershaw. WiganAnd in Kidlington oxfordshire.
Mr Duffy said, “Somebody, somewhere in that system, possibly holding a permit from the Environment Agency, gave that waste to (the criminals), either they knew (the criminals) were going to dispose of it in an area, in which case, in my view, they are guilty of the same level of criminality as those who dumped it.”
The EA chief also accused some landfill sites of tax evasion by misdeclaring the category of waste to avoid higher levels of landfill tax – labeling it “the highest form of criminality in waste”.
An illegal dump in Gloucestershire
“This systematically undermines the business models of legitimate and well-run waste companies,” he said.
Mr Duffy also said Illegal waste site in Kidlington It was the result of a “very long, drawn-out criminal operation”.
Read more: Waste crime a stage ‘out of control’, committee warns
Residents believe dumping in Kidlington began around July last year. Mr Duffy said, “The gang involved had clearly thought of planning this in January that year”, and within a week thousands of tonnes of illegal waste had been dumped.
Last week, Sky News reported how the government Handing over police-style powers to EA officers is being consideredWhich includes arrest without warrant, search of premises and seizure of property.
The EA also unveiled a 10-point plan to tackle waste crime, including speeding up response times when alerted to dumping and more co-ordinated intelligence gathering.
The government has also announced this Provide funding to clean up three large illegal waste sites In Wigan, Sheffield and Lancashire following Sky News reporting About the North-South divide in funding.
