Peter Lamb MP welcomes crackdown on fly-tipping as Government launches toughest ever Waste Crime Action Plan

The Government has launched its new Waste Crime Action Plan – the toughest ever crackdown on illegal waste – backed by an additional £45 million for the Environment Agency to pursue fly-tippers and organised criminal gangs across England.

Waste crime costs the economy £1 billion every year, with nearly 1.3 million incidents of fly-tipping recorded last year alone.

Labour’s new Waste Crime Action Plan sets out a zero-tolerance approach, with action to prevent waste crime at its source by closing loopholes and equipping regulators with the tools they need to stop waste criminals.

Under the plans, the Government will ramp up efforts to punish offenders committing waste crime. This could see them ordered to complete up to 20 hours of unpaid work cleaning streets and parks as part of new “clean-up squads” and required to repay the cost of clearing the waste they illegally dumped.

In addition, Crawley Borough Council has recently announced that it is deploying additional fly typing enforcement staff, it will also now be issues fines of up to £1,000 to those caught fly tipping. Fly tying locally can be reported to Crawley Borough Council here: mycrawley.gov.uk

The Labour Government will also work with the insurance industry to create more comprehensive policies and remove any existing barriers, helping farmers, businesses and landowners to be covered for the cost of clearing illegally dumped waste from their land.

The Environment Agency will also gain new police-style powers to search premises, seize assets and make arrests, and will create a new Operational Waste Intelligence Unit to go after criminal networks using aerial surveillance and financial data.

Peter Lamb, Labour MP for Crawley said:

“Crawley residents have had to put up with fly tipping for too long, with 1,906 incidents being reported in the last 12 months. This plan is a real step forward. Fly-tippers now know that if they dump their waste in Crawley, there will be real consequences, and I will be watching closely to make sure those powers are used.”

“In addition to this, I also encourage all residents to report fly tipping on their my crawley account.”

Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Emma Reynolds said:

“Waste criminals have been damaging our communities, countryside, environment and economy for too long. This Action Plan sends a clear message: dump illegally and you will face the full consequences.

“Waste criminals will be forced to join clean up squads and made to pay for the clearing of illegal waste sites. We will give enforcement officers new police-style powers to bring offenders to justice.”