Businesses are being urged to back the Environment Agency's crackdown on waste crime as a major new report reveals a three fold increase in prosecutions.

The new annual waste crime report "Cracking down on waste crime" reveals 16 people were handed custodial sentences for committing waste crimes last year, while the total fines increased by nearly £800,000 to £1.7 million.

The Environment Agency ("EA"), spent £17.4 million tackling waste crime in 2011-2012. An additional £5 million was invested to provide a new dedicated illegal waste sites taskforce funded by Defra.

With such a focus on illegal waste activities it is vital that businesses understand the work being undertaken by the EA and what steps they should be taking to avoid being suspected of breaching their obligations and being caught in a lengthy and costly criminal investigation.

How is the EA tackling waste crime?

The EA's chances of detecting waste criminals are higher than ever. The dedicated taskforce implemented last year have adopted the principles of police work and use intelligence and offender profiling to target activities. The following techniques are used to identify and prosecute criminals:

  • Gather and develop local and national intelligence
  • Select the appropriate action to stop the activity or bring it under regulatory control
  • Take enforcement action and prosecute where necessary

POCA

Not only is the EA taking tougher action to stop waste criminals, but wherever possible, it is utilising powers under POCA (The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002) to take away the proceeds of their crime so that they cannot continue to operate. POCA allows a Court to deprive convicted offenders of the assets they have gained from crime and the EA believes that POCA will act as a deterrent, possibly more than a conviction and sentence.

What can you and your business do?

The EA is urging businesses to carry out proper due diligence on their waste contractors. Andrew Hingham, head of the EA's National Environmental Crime Team wants to see more businesses support its efforts. He says "we've stepped up the fight and we are increasingly seeing waste offenders being made to pay for their crimes, but we are not complacent and there is more to do and we can't do it on our own. We need everyone to play their part in helping to tackle waste crime".

If you have waste you have a legal "duty of care". This duty of care applies to everyone in handling the waste from the person who produces it to the person who finally disposes of it.

Businesses should ensure they follow the tips below:

  • Store waste appropriately and securely so it doesn't escape and affect the environment
  • Make sure you know where your waste goes so it doesn't end up in the hands of illegal operators
  • Complete waste transfer notes to document waste you transfer and keep the records for two years
  • Be wary of people or businesses offering cheap waste removal and disposal (if it seems too good to be true, it might well be)
  • Report any suspicious behaviour (for example activity through the night, increased numbers of lorries entering a site, smoke, water pollution) to the EA's incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111
  • Periodically check how your waste contractor is disposing of waste material
  • For a step by step guidance note, refer to Defra's Waste Management "The duty of care: A code of practice" which can be downloaded for free on their website at www.defra.gov.uk

Remember that if you do not dispose of your waste correctly, you and your business could be prosecuted and fined. This would seriously damage your reputations, take up a considerable amount of time dealing with any investigation/prosecution which could be better spent elsewhere within the business, and could undermine staff morale. Take care of your business by taking care of your waste!

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.