Responding to the House of Lords inquiry into waste crime, CIWM’s Dan Cooke said the government must treat tackling waste crime as a ‘definitive sector and societal priority’.
The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) said it largely agreed with the findings from the inquiry, which concluded that serious and organised waste crime is currently under-prioritised relative to its significant impact, and that a root-and-branch review is required to tackle waste crime more effectively.
CIWM’s Director of Policy, Communications and External Affairs, Dan Cooke, who gave evidence to the inquiry, said ‘waste crime causes misery and anxiety to communities, landowners and businesses across the UK, and tackling this insidious issue is significantly under-resourced’.
The inquiry found that ‘incompetence’ at the Environment Agency has been a factor in failures to prevent and effectively prosecute waste crime.
The Lords were also critical of the police, saying they were ‘unimpressed’ with the lack of interest they showed in tackling waste crime.
Waste crime causes misery and anxiety to communities, landowners and businesses across the UK, and tackling this insidious issue is significantly under-resourced.
CIWM Past President, Dr Anna Willetts, also gave evidence to the committee and spoke to BBC Radio Kent’s ‘The Wake Up Call’ programme this morning, saying she was pleased with the robustness of the response from the House of Lords.
“I am pleased to see that the Committee listened very carefully to the evidence provided and, as a result, has written this robust letter calling for stronger, better and quicker action from the regulators to tackle waste crime,” Dr Willetts told Circular Online.
“Hopefully, this will now trigger action within government to make a fast and positive change in the fight against waste crime.”
Dan Cooke commented: “CIWM fully supports the Committee’s call for more effective, integrated enforcement. We recognise that this is a complex issue. There are, however, some promising examples of local authorities, police, regulators, and landowners working together to tackle waste crime, and we must learn from these and expand effective approaches.”
“We are committed to actively assisting the UK Government, the Joint Unit for Waste Crime and other relevant parties in addressing and implementing these recommendations to drive improved compliance and to stem, disrupt and prevent all forms of waste crime.”