PM orders crackdown on the criminal gangs profiting from illegal waste and blighting communities

The Prime Minister is to set out new plans to shut down the criminal gangs running illegal waste sites, as part of his pledge to bring hope back to Britain’s communities.

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.

Mayors will lead the effort in their own areas, with a reformed partnership between national and regional agencies and councils which will facilitate better intelligence and capability sharing at a local level.

Alongside the enforcement package, the government is funding the clean-up of three more of the country’s most serious illegal waste sites. Together, the sites contain around 22,000 tonnes of illegally dumped waste and are harming an estimated 2,900 families. Sites were prioritised on scale, risk to nearby communities, environmental damage, and links to persistent non-compliance and organised waste crime.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said:

These toxic dumps have blighted communities for too long. I said we would clean them up – and that’s exactly what we’re announcing today.

The days of making easy money out of waste are over. We’re giving authorities the powers to hunt down the people responsible. We will seize their assets and shut their operations down.

These mountains of rubbish have been a clear sign to communities that politics hasn’t been working for them or their area. This government is going to tackle the issues that have been ignored by Westminster for too long and bring back hope.

These sites are often run by serious, organised crime groups. That is why the government will be putting the full weight of law enforcement behind this effort, working with local authorities.

The package builds on the Waste Crime Action Plan: clearing the sites that exist and stopping the next ones by going after the networks behind them.

Read the press release in full here