Rogue operators who illegally dump waste in Northern Ireland could face up to five years in jail under tough new laws. The first phase of the Waste (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order SI 2007/611 came into force on 25 June 2007, and amends the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order SI 1997/2778, by increasing the maximum fine and forcing offenders to pay the clean up and enforcement costs. It emerged this month that Governments north and south of the border are facing a bill of up to £50 million for cleaning up thousands of tonnes of waste from the Republic dumped in Northern Ireland.
Environment Minister Arlene Foster said, "These new measures will help the fight against those who have no regard for the costs of their actions, not only in terms of the burden on the Northern Ireland taxpayer, but also in relation to damage to the environment and risk to public health." Unauthorised operators - including organised criminal gangs - can generate profits of around £100 per tonne of illegal waste. This can lead to a loss of some £24 million in taxes each year. Clean-up costs can be as much as £1 million per site.
Under the new provisions, officials will be able to stop and search vehicles while judges can impose a fine of up to £50,000, which is an increase from £20,000. There has also been the removal of the defence of acting under an employer's instructions for those charged with waste offences; new powers for district councils to require landowners to remove illegally deposited waste from their properties and a new daily fine for failure to obey a direction from the Department of the Environment (DoE) on the management of controlled waste. Other provisions contained in the Order will come into force at a later date, which relate to the registration of waste carriers, seizure of vehicles involved in waste offences and a requirement for developers and contractors on construction and demolition projects to prepare site waste management plans.
