Recommendation 11

Stakeholders emphasised the need to ensure timely, effective delivery and implementation of the government’s initiatives. The Environmental Services Association wrote that tighter requirements to prevent criminals entering the sector “must be developed and pushed through with urgency”, while ADEPT also supports improving data to help expose rogue operators.29 Large waste company SUEZ wrote that new legislation needs to be supported by the resources to implement it effectively, including sufficient monitoring and enforcement.30 NFU evidence made clear that improving user experience and willingness to report waste crime requires fundamental change, telling us that a single reporting mechanism is needed to reduce frustration and confusion, as is feedback following a report.31 The Agency has said publicly that its new approach to tackling waste crime is “a lot more high-tech”, citing use of drones and heat-sensitive 19 Qq 5–6 20 Qq 2, 5–6, 29 21 C&AG’s Report, para 1.2 22 Q 2 23 Qq 3, 81; C&AG’s Report, para 1.2 24 Qq 48–49 25 Qq 5–6; C&AG’s Report, paras 3.3 and 3.4 26 Qq 5, 43, 49 27 Q 3 28 Q 2 29 GWC0003 (ESA); GWC0006 (ADEPT) 30 GWC0007 (SUEZ) 31 GWC0004 (NFU England and Wales) 12 Government actions to combat waste crime cameras.32 Equivalent bodies in other UK nations have explored using satellite data to improve data on waste crime: both the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and Natural Resources Wales have trialled the use of satellites to discover waste crime.33 Delivering an IT project critical to the waste strategy