Illegal waste dumping discussed at PCC event

Police and crime commissioners (PCCs) across the South East have attended a conference to discuss tackling organised criminal waste dumping.

According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, there were 101,694 cases of fly-tipping in the region during 2023/24.

The National Audit Office estimates that illegal waste dumping, much of it organised, costs the economy more than £900m a year.

On Tuesday Kent PCC Matthew Scott invited colleagues Katy Bourne and Lisa Townsend - from Sussex and Surrey respectively - to discuss a problem he has called "the new county lines".

In the two years up until December, the Environment Agency (EA) received 3,407 incident reports of suspected criminal activity, such as dumping and burning waste, in the South East region.

While the EA is responsible for larger-scale fly-tipping - more than a lorry load -smaller incidents on public land fall under the remit of local authorities.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's conference, Sussex PCC Katy Bourne said one of its aims was to clarify the reporting chain.

"The problem with this is there are quite a few agencies involved, and it's difficult to know, from a member of public's point of view, who do you report to in the first instance," she told BBC Radio Sussex on Tuesday.

Speaking after the conference, Mr Scott acknowledged that this was an issue.

"Whilst there has been some efforts to work closer together, there are some gaps that we've identified here today which the EA, the police and the councils will want to work together on after this," he said.

Mr Scott also claimed it had become "too easy for the criminals to make money out of this".

"The landfill tax regime and other systems are making it too easy for them to undercut legitimate businesses, and they can make thousands of pounds by dumping waste illegally," he added.

The PCC said he also wanted to look at "how we're licensing waste carriers to begin with".

Large scale fly tipping is punishable with a fine of up to £50,000 or 12 months imprisonment if convicted in a magistrates' court, or an unlimited fine and up to five years' imprisonment if convicted in a crown court.

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