Approach to many waste crimes closer to ‘decriminalisation’, MPs warn
Date of alert:
Wednesday, 19 October 2022
Crime Ref:
Force:
National
Waste crime is attracting organised criminals who see fines as a ‘business expense’, committee says.
The Government’s approach to dealing with large parts of waste crime is closer to “decriminalisation” than cracking down on it, MPs have said.
The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Environment Department (Defra) was not doing enough to support councils to tackle the scourge of fly-tipping, and has no plan to meet its goal to eliminate the £1 billion a year issue of waste crime by 2043.
The MPs said the current sanctions were not effective in deterring people from committing waste crimes, with the sector attracting organised criminals who regard fines for illegal activity as “business expenses”.
A report from the committee looked at the approach to tackling waste crimes, which include fly-tipping, illegal waste sites and export of waste, and evasion of landfill tax.
