The multi-agency unit led or supported 61 operations and recorded 13 partner arrests, as Defra establishes a new board to oversee delivery of England’s Waste Crime Action Plan.
The Joint Unit for Waste Crime (JUWC) delivered 111 disruptions against suspected serious and organised waste crime during the 2025–26 financial year, according to its latest annual report.
The multi-agency taskforce led 23 operations and supported a further 38.
It also organised, attended or supported 59 days of action, which the report says resulted in 13 arrests by partner organisations and eight vehicles being seized. JUWC officers conducted 17 interviews under caution during the year.
The figures cover work undertaken by 14 full-time Environment Agency crime officers and do not represent the results of the wider JUWC partnership. The unit does not have arrest powers, meaning arrests are made and subsequently handled by its partner agencies.
They’ve [JUWC] listened to the professional resources and waste sector and have stepped up to the plate in tackling the scourge of waste crime.
JUWC brings together environmental regulators, police forces, HM Revenue and Customs and other public bodies to address serious and organised crime affecting the UK waste sector.
Commenting on the release of the report, Dan Cooke, Director of Policy, Communications and External Affairs at CIWM, said: “Hats off to the Government, the Environment Agency, regulators and partners for recent hard-hitting actions against waste crime across the UK. They’ve listened to the professional resources and waste sector and have stepped up to the plate in tackling the scourge of waste crime.
“The JUWC report, in addition to recent Environment Agency and Government initiatives under Operation Unite and the Tackling Waste Crime Action Plan, shows impressive results. It demonstrates our joint determination to go after cowboys and criminals profiting from waste crime, undermining our sector, causing misery and anxiety in communities, and damaging local economies and environments.
“There is still much work to do. CIWM and its members continue to drive towards higher professional standards in our vital sector. We will also continue to support the JUWC and regulators to further disrupt, prevent and pursue criminality in waste, and to protect communities and the reputation of our essential sector.”
Targeting organised waste crime
The annual report says 21 criminal and civil investigations and two major crime investigations were linked to JUWC operations at the end of the reporting period. A number of cases were also being considered for prosecution.
One anonymised case study involved a long-running illegal operation acting as an unlawful landfill, scrap-metal dealer and waste transfer station.
JUWC said a coordinated operation involving the police, Environment Agency, local authorities, HMRC and other agencies resulted in 23 heavy goods vehicles being seized and destroyed. Authorities also secured a restriction order for the site and recovered assets following the bankruptcy of the companies involved.
Prosecution files have been submitted, although the report does not state that any defendants have been convicted in connection with the operation.
In another case, an organised crime group associated with illegal waste sites, unpermitted companies and illegal dumping was recorded as dismantled following a series of interventions. These included deregistering waste carriers, seizing vehicles and using the powers of police, tax authorities and environmental regulators.
The unit also supported action against an individual suspected of fraud and money laundering connected to permitted waste businesses. Measures included a £600,000 account-freezing order, permit suspensions, the removal of waste exemptions and referrals to other agencies.
JUWC capacity expanded
JUWC received funding to recruit eight additional members of staff during the year, increasing its full-time workforce from 10 to 18. The new recruits, including former police officers, were in post by March 2026.
Two HMRC intelligence officers are also embedded within the unit, taking its combined reported capacity to 20 people.
The expansion forms part of the government’s Waste Crime Action Plan for England, published in March.
The plan includes an additional £45 million for Environment Agency enforcement over three financial years and the creation of an Operational Waste Intelligence and Analysis Unit. Other measures cover digital waste tracking, regulatory changes for waste carriers, brokers and dealers, and a review of the multi-agency response to waste crime.
Defra estimates that approximately 20% of waste is managed illegally and cites research estimating that waste crime costs the English economy £1 billion annually.
More recent enforcement activity under the Environment Agency’s 18-week Operation Unite campaign included inspections at 42 waste sites. A government update published in July said 17 permits had been suspended, revoked or were undergoing revocation, while more than 30 new criminal investigations had been opened.
Defra creates oversight board
Separately, Defra has established a Waste Crime Programme Board to monitor the delivery of the action plan and its wider waste crime programme.
The board will examine progress, strategic risks, dependencies, business cases and whether the programme is delivering its intended benefits.
Representatives are to include officials from Defra, the Environment Agency, the Home Office, the Department for Transport, HM Treasury and HMRC. CIWM and the Local Government Association are also represented.
The details so far do not specify how frequently the board will meet or whether its performance assessments will be published.