The Environment Agency has confirmed its enforcement budget has risen to £15.6 million, a 50% increase, and announced a suite of new measures to tackle waste crime.
The measures include a new package of surveillance, detection and investigative capabilities to tackle waste crime.
This includes investing in a new fleet of drones to track illegal waste sites from the air. Some of the 33 drones will be upgraded to carry laser mapping technology that allows operators to capture evidence of illegal activity.
Light Detection and Ranging technology is currently flown from a dedicated aircraft mainly to capture flood information.
The Environment Agency says moving the technology onto drones will enable more precise mapping of illegal waste sites, which can be used as evidence in court.
Commenting on the announcement, Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said: “This government is aggressively pursuing waste criminals and bringing offenders to justice.”
“By increasing the Environment Agency’s enforcement budget by over 50% to £15.6 million, we’re investing in cutting-edge technology that allows us to shut down illegal operators faster and more effectively.”
The Environment Agency has also announced a new screening tool that enables officers to cross-check lorry applications against waste permit records.
The new tool has been trialled in East Anglia, where the Environment Agency said it helped officers uncover a waste company that had secretly relocated its HGV operations to evade enforcement.
The software flagged the new operating centre within a week, allowing them to intervene before a licence was approved.
The Joint Unit for Waste Crime has also recruited seven more specialists, including former police officers, to increase its workforce to 20.
Phil Davies, Head of the Joint Unit for Waste Crime Unit, commented: “With organised criminals becoming ever more sophisticated, we are adopting new technologies to find and, importantly, stop them.”
“Through the greater use of drones, stronger partnerships and more officers on the ground, we will build on our action so far and send a clear message to those committing waste crimes – we will stop you.”
