EnglishNew waste crime group to target illegal dumping and share intelligence
Defra’s new group will examine enforcement gaps and intelligence sharing. Asset-confiscation powers remain planned.
A new Waste Crime Crackdown Group will bring police, regulators and local leaders together to target organised illegal dumping, Defra announced on 4 November. Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle is asking the group to identify weaknesses in the waste system and improve intelligence sharing.
At its first meeting, members are due to discuss stronger enforcement and whether existing powers should go further. Defra says 36 arrests have been made since April. That figure describes earlier enforcement activity, rather than arrests made by the newly formed group.
The department says the illegal waste sites at Kidlington and Hoad’s Wood have been completely cleared, while investigations continue. Clearance work is still under way at Bolton House Road in Wigan and Midland Road in Bradford.
Plans to give the Environment Agency powers to confiscate assets bought with the proceeds of waste crime remain proposals in the announcement. They should not be read as powers already exercised by the new group. Defra also cited fines of up to £5,000 and tighter rules on exemptions from waste permits among its measures.
Cover: AI-assisted editorial collage by issue.red using the illustrative enforcement photograph attached to Defra’s announcement, under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The source does not identify the date or location of the photograph. Existing face blurs are retained; the drawing is illustration and the photograph does not document the new group’s meeting.