Illegal waste dumping costs the UK £1 billion every year, but the Environment Agency has managed to reclaim just over £7 million from waste criminals over the past five years, according to figures obtained by the BBC.
The offence, which ruins green spaces including sites in towns, cities, and the countryside, is causing misery in communities across the country. Illegal waste sites contain around 22,000 tonnes of dumped waste and are harming an estimated 2,900 families, according to the Government.
Costly clean-up operations
Cleaning up these sites is expensive. Work to restore a site in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, has just been completed, costing taxpayers £6 million to remove 22,000 tonnes of domestic and commercial rubbish.
The Environment Agency says illegal waste dumping costs the UK £1 billion every year. But the Proceeds of Crime Act (Poca) confiscation orders have yielded only just over £7 million in five years, showing that criminals have little fear of getting caught or punished.
Government response
The Government has announced plans to get much tougher on organised crime gangs in the waste-dumping business. It is vowing to seize the cars and houses of gang leaders, and fines for waste offences are set to rise from £300 to £5,000.
Better use of drones, a bigger role for the police and the National Crime Agency, more Environment Agency officers on the frontline, and a steep rise in fines will deter, catch, and punish those who dump illegally, according to Andy Burnham.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham appears determined to ensure two men involved in the killing of PC Andrew Harper are not released early. This is welcome, but should not hide the fact that other criminals are still due to be freed. Previous Conservative governments should also have done more to be tough on crime.
Labour's early release scheme is sending exactly the wrong message to criminals of all types, suggesting that society doesn't really care about their behaviour. So far, it's the criminals that have the upper hand.
