Recommendation 4

Waste regulation as currently set up is not effective enough at stopping waste crime or non-compliance. Regulation of the waste sector is not adequately addressing the rising problem of illegal waste dumping. We are encouraged by the Environment Agency’s recent enforcement action at a permitted landfill site where there was large-scale pollution. However, the widespread and increasing issue of illegal waste sites surpasses the Environment Agency’s powers. The Agency lacks the option of enforcing civil powers against illegal sites and is restricted to the lengthier and more expensive route of criminal prosecutions. The Agency may have responded quickly once it got ‘confirmed intelligence’ about illegal dumping at Kidlington in Oxfordshire, but local bodies had been aware of the problem for weeks before that. However, this incident illustrates the gaps in its intelligence on this type of criminality and highlights how it lacks the ability to collaborate effectively with other bodies such as the police and local authorities. recommendation a. Defra should set up closer co-operation and sharing of intelligence between the Environment Agency, Local Authorities, the police and other agencies on illegal waste dumping risks. b. Defra should examine the potential for technology to improve response times when illegal activity occurs that affects the environment.