Council and democracy

Council welcomes plans to increase waste-crime penalties

A consultation launched by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), and due to conclude in September, will target criminals who profit by illegally dumping waste, be it at the roadside, on public land or in waterways.

Croydon Council already has systems in place to rapidly and effectively deal with reported instances of fly-tipping. It has also carried out successful roadside vehicle checking and covert operations at known fly-tipping sites, resulting in court prosecutions.

Examples of the sort of fly-tipped household and commercial waste that council contractors have had to deal with include: fridges, washing machines, bulky furniture, mattresses, tyres, builder's rubble, and general household and garden rubbish.

Removing the waste costs the council, and its council taxpayers, large sums of money and, depending on the type of waste, can be hazardous to clear up. Fly-tipping and other forms of waste crime are often organised by professional criminals who make substantial profits by disposing of waste illegally.

If approved, the proposals will give the council and the Environment Agency new powers to stop, search and instantly seize vehicles suspected of being involved in fly-tipping and other waste offences. Offenders who do not come forward could see the forfeiture and crushing of their vehicles. 

Councillor Phil Thomas, cabinet member for environment and highways, said: "For quite some time before these proposals were mooted Croydon Council has been taking steps to bring fly-tippers and other waste-disposal offenders to book.

"I'm glad to see that the government is now realising the seriousness of the problem and looking at giving us in local authorities the tools to properly deal with these criminal and anti-social acts.

"If these proposals get the go ahead, it's sure to make the people who commit these crimes think twice - a £10,000 fine would make a hefty dent in most businesses' profits."

The consultation documents propose a number of measures including:

doubling the maximum fine for duty of care and waste carrier offences to £10,000
making it an offence to provide false and misleading information on a waste carrier application form and for failure to inform the Environment Agency of changes to registration details
funding for a national or regional awareness-raising campaign
updating guidance to make its easier for businesses to comply with the controls
steps to ensure producers and the public have up-to-date and accurate information in their area.