Two million pounds goes to waste

A two million pound boost has been awarded to the Environment Agency (EA) to help beat illegal fly tippers that are causing damage to both the environment and the waste industry.


The money has been freed up through Government increases in the landfill tax, and is being redistributed among businesses as part of the new Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) fund.

It will be used by the EA to crack down on companies that turn a blind eye to where their waste is going, as well as the dumpers themselves who are making a profit from an illegal trade.

“The £2 million boost to the EA will help us in the fight against illegal waste dumping, which is blighting the lives of millions of people, taking business from legitimate waste disposal firms and impacting on those businesses trying to manage their waste properly,” chief executive of the EA, Barbara Young, stated.

“We will use it to help companies that are trying to play by the rules and to catch those that aren’t.”

Ms Young added that we all produced too much rubbish, and the money would also be used to help businesses minimise the amount of waste they created.

In a further step to crack down on illegal waste, the Government has also announced that the Local Government Association (LGA) will now have the power to seize and destroy abandoned vehicles.

Chair of the LGA’s Environment Board Councillor David Sparks said the organisation was delighted that the Government had taken on board their recommendations in the new strategy on nuisance vehicles.

“Earlier this year, our abandoned vehicles survey highlighted the fact that clapped out vehicle abandonment is getting worse, and that councils needed additional powers and support to take action to reduce this complex problem,” Mr Sparks stated.

He added that the Government’s decision to better coordinate work with local authorities to combat this problem would significantly help them to reduce the number of unlicensed vehicles, abandonment and related car crime.

Illegally dumped waste is estimated to cost in excess of £150 million every year to clean up, dispose of waste and then police the fly tipping sites.

By Jane Kettle

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