| As part of our focus on rural crime and rural communities, please see below some information on waste crime from the Environment Agency. 'Waste crime is the disposal, incineration or management of waste without legal consent. It can include littering, fly tipping or organised waste dumps. Waste crimes are mostly deliberate but can also be committed through misinformation or carelessness.' There are a series of inventive ways in which criminals make money from waste. The main ones we see in the Environment Agency are: · Illegal waste sites. There are hundreds of sites all over the country which store or process waste illegally. Over the last few years we have made bearing down on them one of our top priorities. · Dumping. One of the most common and damaging acts of criminality is simply taking someone’s waste away for cash then dumping it in a nearby field or on the roadside. Local councils are responsible for investigating and clearing waste from small-scale fly-tipping on public land, and responsibility for dealing with the waste on private land rests with the landowner. The Environment Agency responds to illegal dumping incidents which are big, bad and nasty, and we have the power to investigate and take enforcement action. · Burning and burying. Another scam is to take payment for waste disposal then just burn and/or bury it. We see a lot of this, including on isolated farms. If you think that you have seen waste crime, please contact the environment agency - Environment Agency Hotline (24 Hours) 0800 80 70 60 |