According to the National Waste Crime Survey 2023, 18% of all waste is illegally managed. This figure remains unchanged from the 2021 survey.
This 18%, the Environment Agency said, is approximately 34 million tonnes across England every year – enough to full four million skips.
The survey was commissioned by the head of waste regulation at the Environment Agency and research was carried out by SYSTRA consultants. It ran as an online survey in February of this year.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) was among the stakeholders consulted during the survey design phase.
Respondents of the survey were seen as being in one of three groups: Waste industry, landowners/farmers and service providers (which includes local authorities and environmental consultants).
Out of these three groups, farmers/landowners submitted the most responses with 459 respondents, followed by the waste industry with 346 and service providers with 84.
This comes as no surprise, considering 86% of these landowner/farmer respondents said they were being affected by small-scale fly tipping.
These farmers named the financial costs of cleaning up as the biggest impact of waste crime on them, however at 88% it was on par with it being a visual blight/eyesore.
To understand the financial impact that waste crime has, respondents were also asked to estimate their total financial costs resulting from waste crime they had experienced during the previous 12 months.
Small-scale fly-tipping mostly cost between £101 and £5,000.
On average, respondents (waste industry and/or landowners/farmers) estimated that 31% of all waste crimes are committed by organised crime groups – and 18% said they were aware of waste crime activities being arranged via Facebook.
Tackling waste crime
The survey respondents felt that the Environment Agency is not effective in its response to waste crime.
However, the survey found that just 25% of waste crime is reported to the agency, and reasons provided for this low rate included negative experiences when having done so in the past.
Less than one in five respondents who had reported waste crime to the Environment Agency were satisfied with the action that followed.
Respondents also felt that severe actions were needed with court-issued penalties, visible activities, disruption tactic and criminal sanctions considered the most effective deterrents against waste crime.
The Environment Agency said that the survey’s findings has shown it needs to update and refine its approach to enforcement continually, and that stopping and shutting down criminals in the waste sector remains a top priority for the agency.
Steve Molyneux, the Environment Agency’s strategic lead on waste regulation, commented:
“Waste criminals put us all at risk every time they break the law. Their toxic crimes cause widespread and significant harm to people, places and the economy.
“The Environment Agency is facing well-resourced, highly organised criminals whose crimes stretch beyond the waste sector to include human trafficking, drugs and money laundering.
“We know crime in the waste sector is rife and this survey provides us with the evidence we need to help us stay one step ahead of the criminal gangs.”
