ESA welcomes the Government’s Continued Commitment to Tackling Waste Crime

The Environmental Services Association (ESA), the voice for the UK’s resource and waste management industry, today welcomed the continued commitment from Government to tackle the scourge of waste crime, following the launch of the waste crime consultation earlier this week.

ESA’s Head of Regulation, Sam Corp said: “As ESA’s ‘Rethinking Waste Crime’ report showed last year, unfortunately, despite the efforts of government, the regulators and the legitimate industry, the problem of waste crime is getting worse rather than better. Whilst, this latest consultation contains some very useful measures, much more is needed.”

“The proposals to raise the standard of operator competence at permitted sites by strengthening the regulators’ assessment and enforcement abilities are helpful. We hope that they will help discourage operators who do not have the resources, the experience, or the intention to operate within the law. Similarly, tightening up financial checks at the front end should also help to prevent operators, who are unable to demonstrate adequate financial standing, from receiving a permit in the first place. However, whilst we welcome this additional scrutiny, we think that extending the financial provision requirement to additional facilities should be dependent upon a revised risk profiling of the sector to avoid tying up capital and potentially constraining investment within the legitimate industry.”

“The consultation highlights EA research showing that 30% of ‘Exemptions’ visited were found to be illegal: a damning statistic clearly highlighting the need for change, which ESA has long called for. We therefore welcome additional scrutiny on Exemptions advocated in the consultation.”

“Proposals to introduce fixed penalty notices to householders who breach their duty of care, will no doubt help to help raise awareness of this important responsibility. However, what is missing in this consultation are proposals to overhaul and tighten the carriers, brokers and dealers regime, which ESA called for in our ‘Rethinking Waste Crime’ report last year. Without this, we have concerns about the effectiveness of the FPNs to deter the real criminals. The requirements for becoming a registered waste carrier, broker or dealer are, quite simply, too lax. So, whilst contracting with a registered carrier or broker ought to provide some comfort to householders that their waste is being managed responsibly, all it actually provides is a veneer of legitimacy which is often relied upon completely to fulfil waste producers’ Duty of Care requirements.”