The Environment Agency's illegal waste sites task force was established in December 2011 to tackle illegal waste sites and launched a "blitz" on criminal waste operations. Its ongoing work to shut down such sites saw a "day of action" at the end of March where around 100 Agency officers visited over 60 sites in the Midlands and the South West of England in order to disrupt illegal dealings, gather intelligence on waste carriers and to crack down on illegal sites.
The Agency had previously identified 243 illegal waste sites across the Midlands in 2012, and managed to close 176 of them by the end of that year. Overall, in 2012 the Agency stopped 1,135 illegal sites, helping to protect legitimate recycling and waste disposal businesses. The Agency aims to reduce the number of illegal sites by 50% by 2015.
Mat Crocker, head of Illegals and Waste at the Environment Agency, said, "Illegal waste sites undercut legitimate business, can cause severe damage to the environment and misery for local residents. We are determined to make life hard for criminals. Our day of action should send a clear message to legitimate business that we are supporting them by and disrupting and stopping the criminal element."
