Vehicles and waste sites across England will be subject to impromptu checks today (18 June) as part of Operation Cyclone, the Illegal Waste Sites Taskforce’s newest operation aimed at cracking down on waste crime.
Members of the Environment Agency (EA), Police, Road Haulage Association, Association of British Insurers, Vehicle and Operator Service Agency and Crimestoppers will be setting up stop and searches for vehicles and visiting waste sites today ‘to stop illegal waste activity that undercuts legitimate business and blights local communities’.
According to the EA, there are still in excess of 800 illegal waste sites operating throughout England & Wales, some of which ‘covertly hold hazardous waste and chemicals without safeguards’ and ‘risk causing serious pollution incidents that damage rivers, habitats and pose a risk to human health’.
Operation Cyclone hopes to ‘disrupt the supply of waste to illegal waste sites, gather intelligence and encourage people to report waste crime’. The taskforce will also be providing advice and guidance to help ensure waste is handled correctly and bring illegal waste sites into compliance.
Speaking of the operation, Steve Townhill, Environment Agency Taskforce Manager, said: “Waste crime undermines legitimate business, can cause harm to environment and misery for local people.
“We will continue to work with our enforcement partners to combine our powers to disrupt illegal waste activity.”
Mike Moore from the Road Haulage Association added:“RHA members fully support the aims of the taskforce, in particular the assistance available to legitimate business in levelling the playing field against those who continue to flout the waste carrying and disposal laws and we will continue to support the Environment Agency in its efforts.”
Ongoing focus on waste crime
Operation Cyclone marks the latest crackdown on illegal waste activities, after a similar ‘day of action’ in March saw 100 officers visiting 60 sites in an attempt to clamp down on illegal waste activities.
In the year 2011/12, the EA issued 139 formal cautions and 300 prosecutions relating to waste crime, which resulted in total fines in excess of £1.6 million.
Rodger Holden from Crimestoppers said:“We have worked alongside the Environment Agency since 2011 and this relationship has been key to eliminating waste crime that can have a huge effect on people’s lives.
“Through this partnership we have been able to engage with the agency and discover what issues are affecting our environment, while they have been able to call on our expertise to tackle these problems and our call to action, encouraging people to pass on information about waste crime, completely anonymously.”
Those with any intelligence on waste crime activities are asked to call the EA’s incident line on 0800 80 70 60 or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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