Tackling Illegal Waste Carriers (E, W)
The Environment Agency and Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency have signed a formal agreement to share intelligence and carry out joint operations in England to stop waste being illegally transported and to target unsafe drivers and vehicles.
Key benefits of the new agreement will include
- DVSA staff working within Environment Agency teams to help ensure enforcement action is coordinated and effective
- shared information and intelligence increasing the effectiveness of roadside enforcement activity on waste industry vehicles
- enforcement teams having access to up-to-date intelligence about waste industry operators
- more effective identification of high risk or illegal goods vehicle operators involved in waste transport
- a reduction in the number of seriously and serially non-compliant waste industry vehicles on England’s roads
Registration
Firms must be listed on the ‘Register of waste carriers, brokers and dealers’ if they
- transport waste
- buy, sell or dispose of waste
- arrange for someone else to buy, sell or dispose of waste
‘Register or renew as a waste carrier, broker or dealer (England)’ provides an interactive online registration service for them. There is also a weblink for Welsh firms.
Environment Agency Issues ‘Waste Criminal’ Warning
On the day the new formal agreement with the DVSA was announced (12 September), the Environment Agency illustrated the need for action by issuing a warning about organised waste criminals targeting sites in the West Midlands.
The criminals either request to store baled waste or claim they will use the site for other purposes – eg vehicle storage – then fill them with baled waste anyhow.
Even if they make an initial payment, further payments are not forthcoming and the landowner is left with a site full of waste that can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to clean up. They could even face a fine or custodial sentence if the waste is not disposed of appropriately.
Anyone with information about this scam should contact the Environment Agency hotline on 0800 807060 or ‘Crimestoppers Online’ (0800 555111).