Political opinion: David Taylor MP welcomes crackdown on fly-tipping as Government launches toughest ever Waste Crime Action Plan
Under new plans, waste criminals face up to 20 hours of unpaid work in 'clean-up squads' clearing the streets and parks they have blighted and fly-tippers also face driving licence penalty points and prosecution.
The Government has today launched its new Waste Crime Action Plan - the toughest ever crackdown on illegal waste - backed by an additional £45 million for the Environment Agency to pursue fly-tippers and organised criminal gangs across England.
Waste crime costs the economy £1 billion every year, with nearly 1.3 million incidents of flytipping recorded last year alone.
Labour’s new Waste Crime Action Plan sets out a zero-tolerance approach, with action to prevent waste crime at its source by closing loopholes and equipping regulators with the tools they need to stop waste criminals.
Under the plans, the Government will ramp up efforts to punish offenders committing waste crime. This could see them ordered to complete up to 20 hours of unpaid work cleaning streets and parks as part of new “clean-up squads” and required to repay the cost of clearing the waste they illegally dumped.
The Government will also work with the insurance industry to create more comprehensive policies and remove any existing barriers, helping farmers, businesses and landowners to be covered for the cost of clearing illegally dumped waste from their land.
The Environment Agency will also gain new police-style powers to search premises, seize assets and make arrests, and will create a new Operational Waste Intelligence Unit to go after criminal networks using aerial surveillance and financial data.
Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Emma Reynolds said: “Waste criminals have been damaging our communities, countryside, environment and economy for too long. This Action Plan sends a clear message: dump illegally and you will face the full consequences.
“Waste criminals will be forced to join clean up squads and made to pay for the clearing of illegal waste sites. We will give enforcement officers new police-style powers to bring offenders to justice.”
David Taylor MP said: "Local residents have had to put up with flytipping for too long. This plan is a real step forward. Fly-tippers now know that if they dump their waste in Hemel and the Villages, there will be real consequences, and I will be watching closely to make sure those powers are used."