New reforms to target waste criminals and combat dangerous practices at waste sites were unveiled this week (6 February) by Waste and Resource Minister Rebecca Pow.
The current rules in England and Wales allow certain low-risk, small-scale waste activities to be carried out under a registration scheme, exempt from the need to hold an environmental permit.
However, the UK government argues criminals have used the “cover of exemptions” to carry out illegal waste activities including stockpiling large amounts of undocumented or unsuitable waste and evading Landfill Tax in England and Landfill Disposals Tax in Wales, which it estimates costs the English economy £87.2 million a year.
The government has announced plans to close “loopholes” in the Environmental Improvement Plan, which was published last week, alongside a pledge to seek to eliminate waste crime by 2043.
The government proposes to remove three of the 10 waste exemptions that cover the use of depolluted end-of-life vehicle parts, the treatment of tyres and the recovery of scrap metal. The conditions of a further seven exemptions will also be tightened, the government confirmed.
We are determined to take the fight to those shameful criminals who seek to wreak havoc on our environment and economy.
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow, commented: “Waste crime costs taxpayers tens of millions of pounds every year. We are determined to take the fight to those shameful criminals who seek to wreak havoc on our environment and economy.
“We are clear in our commitment to eliminate this kind of illegal activity and these reforms will prevent dishonest operators from gaming the system and putting our health at risk.
“This is just one of the measures we’re taking to tackle waste crime – we’re also giving regulators and local authorities more power to bring criminals to justice.”
Pow argues that the Environment Agency’s regulatory compliance checks have revealed that certain exemption types have been routinely used to hide illegal waste activities from regulatory oversight in recent years.
The government is also planning to introduce “greater record-keeping requirements” for all waste exemption holders, impose limits and controls on how multiple exemptions can be managed at one site and ban the use of exemptions at a site operating under an environmental permit, or where there is a “direct link” between the exempt and permitted activity.
Today’s announcement will help us in our goal by restricting or removing waste exemptions that are used to mask illegal waste sites.
Commenting on the announcement, Steve Molyneux, the Environment Agency’s strategic lead on Waste Regulation, said: “The Environment Agency is determined to make life harder for criminals by disrupting and stopping illegal activity through better regulation and tough enforcement action.
“Today’s announcement will help us in our goal by restricting or removing waste exemptions that are used to mask illegal waste sites.
“These sites are a risk to the environment and people’s safety and undercut legitimate business. We will keep working with Government and the waste industry to drive further action on waste crime.”