The Government has launched its new Waste Crime Action Plan – the toughest ever crackdown on illegal waste – backed by an additional £45 million for the Environment Agency to pursue fly-tippers and organised criminal gangs across England.
Waste crime costs the economy £1 billion every year, with nearly 1.3 million incidents of fly tipping recorded last year alone.
Residents across John Healey’s Rawmarsh and Conisbrough constituency frequently report incidents of fly‑tipping. The local MP raises these incidents with Rotherham Council to ensure fly-tipping is dealt with as quickly as possible.
Labour’s new Waste Crime Action Plan sets out a zero-tolerance approach, with action to prevent waste crime at its source by closing loopholes and equipping regulators with the tools they need to stop waste criminals.
Under the plans, the Government will ramp up efforts to punish offenders committing waste crime. This could see them ordered to complete up to 20 hours of unpaid work cleaning streets and parks as part of new “clean-up squads” and required to repay the cost of clearing the waste they illegally dumped.
The Government will also work with the insurance industry to create more comprehensive policies and remove any existing barriers, helping farmers, businesses and landowners to be covered for the cost of clearing illegally dumped waste from their land.
The Environment Agency will also gain new police-style powers to search premises, seize assets and make arrests, and will create a new Operational Waste Intelligence Unit to go after criminal networks using aerial surveillance and financial data.
John Healey said:
“Local residents across Rotherham have had to put up with illegally dumped rubbish for too long. This plan is a real step forward.
“Just last year, Rotherham Council invested £307,000 in doubling its clean-up team. Supported by these new powers, fly-tippers now know that if they dump their waste in Rotherham, there will be real consequences.”