I wish I had a pound (£) for every review into waste crime

If I had a pound (£) for every scathing review into the inadequacy of tackling waste crime I could have retired long ago.

I have over the length of my time in the industry seen countless attempts to raise the issue of tackling waste crime only for this to be ignored despite the extensive powers readily available to the Authorities and police to curb this £1 Billion a year crime enterprise.

On the 28^th October was the latest attempt to tackle this issue with the Lords Cross Parliamentary Environment and Climate Change Committee to put this serious issue under the microscope. They like many over the past 30 years took evidence from all the main stakeholders and concluded that this poses a serious threat to the environment and comes with a high social cost stating that they were “deeply concerned about the demonstrable inadequacy of the current approach to tackling waste crime”.

One could be buoyed that this eminent Group showed interest in the plight of our industry and the organised criminals who undermine our activities but also be dismayed at the timescale of the review which would only conclude in May 2027 allowing a further £1.5 Billion in waste criminality to have taken place during this time.

My fear is that this review will, as all the others, be destined for the recycling bin. Why do we expect a different outcome this time if we apply the same approach by the same Authorities.

The Authorities and Police already have extensive powers to prevent waste crime but fail to act. The Hoads Farm in Kent dump acts as a perfect example of the bureaucratic inertia and lack of accountability of the present system, Despite the repeated pleas of the locals to the Authorities the criminals managed to dump over 30k tons of waste in plain site with full awareness over a three-year period.

With the Government desperate to fill the budgetary hole perhaps it should task a completely new agency whose sole role is to stamp out waste crime and allow the legitimate waste operators, who contribute to society through payment of taxes, to thrive.

David Palmer-Jones