Expert warns over waste laws following crackdown and publication of report

The EA helped a further 89 sites to achieve compliance with the laws during the 12 month period and said that, since December last year, the number of sites it has identified that store, treat or dispose of waste illegally has "doubled". The EA said that the spike in the number stemmed from the work of a new taskforce that launched in December which has developed "intelligence on sites and illegal operators".

"Illegal waste sites are a top priority for us as they pose a risk to the environment and people," the EA said in its first annual waste crime report. "These sites operate without the right physical and operational controls and without the right permit."

In its report (19-page / 1.21MB PDF) the EA revealed that the number of people sent to prison for committing serious waste crime offences has almost trebled in the last three years.

Courts served waste criminals with fines totalling £1.7 million during 2011, nearly £800,000 more than the previous year, the EA added. Last year 335 individuals and companies were prosecuted for serious waste offences, whilst courts also ordered assets worth £2.2m to be confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), with the EA bringing 26 prosecutions under the Act in 2011, the EA's waste crime report said.

"The EA’s approach to waste offences has become very sophisticated in recent years," environmental law expert Simon Colvin of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said. "This has been necessary to keep pace with those that are responsible for committing the crimes. As the costs associated with waste disposal have increased, so have the benefits of non-compliance meaning that waste crime is a big and sometimes very profitable business."

"The EA now work much more closely with other crime agencies in order to catch those committing these offences. Under cover operations are now much more frequent. The recovery of assets from these criminals is now a real focus for the EA – removing the benefit of these crimes through the use of the Proceeds of Crime Act is seen as a real deterrent," Colvin added.

"Compliant businesses as well as hardened criminals should sit up and take notice. As the law applying to waste grows and develops, the number of businesses subject to the controls also increases. Often businesses do not appreciate the obligations they are subject to, especially further to the waste duty of care and the recently implemented waste hierarchy. If waste is disposed of illegally, often those that generated the waste will also be guilty of offences, even if they had no knowledge or involvement in the ultimate illegal disposal," the expert warned.

"The message for businesses is very clear, know and understand the law when it comes to waste, because if you don’t, you might form part of next year’s statistics. While the EA’s success should be applauded, there should also be a note of caution as there are certain instances where the exercise of its powers is over zealous, or where criminal sanctions are not warranted. Let’s hope that civil sanctions will soon be introduced for a wider range of waste related offences to ensure a fairer more graded approach to enforcement," Colvin added.

The EA said that companies that do not deal with waste legally can cause serious environmental damage and pose risks to human health. In addition local communities can face problems such as noise and nuisance stemming from illegal waste operations that can push the price of properties in the area down, whilst illegal operators can also be "bad for business" because those operators often "undercut" legitimate waste management firms.

In its report the EA also detailed the problem of illegal waste exporting, where waste is sent for disposal in other countries. The practice is contrary to UK law.

Under the EU's Waste Framework Directive (WFD) there are five-tier hierarchical rules on how waste should be managed, which relate to the prevention, re-use, recycling, recovery and disposal of waste as a last resort. The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations, which implemented the WFD in England and Wales, came into force on 29 March 2011.

Waste activities in England and Wales are regulated by the EA through the Environmental Permitting Regime (EPR), set out in the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2012. It is an offence to undertake waste activities other than in accordance with  the EPR.