Britain's environment department has announced a Waste Crime Crackdown Group to bring police, regulators and local leaders together against organised illegal dumping. In a release published on 4 November, Defra says the group will identify weaknesses in the waste system and obstacles to enforcement.
The first meeting is due to discuss stronger enforcement and better intelligence sharing. Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle will ask members to examine whether enforcement powers should go further. The announcement sets out an agenda; it does not report decisions already taken by the group or a timetable for new legislation.
Defra says 36 arrests have been made since April, alongside investigations, prosecutions and raids. Arrests do not establish guilt, and the release provides no separate count of convictions. It also says the illegal waste sites at Kidlington and Hoad's Wood have been cleared while investigations continue.
The department's statement distinguishes existing action from planned powers. It lists fines of up to £5,000 for specified illegal dumping or treatment failures, tighter waste-permit exemptions and plans to give the Environment Agency powers to confiscate assets bought with waste-crime proceeds. The release does not establish that those proposed confiscation powers are already in force.
Work to clear sites at Bolton House Road in Wigan and Midland Road in Bradford continues, according to Defra. The next stated step for the new group is its first meeting and review of enforcement gaps. The announcement gives no deadline for completing that review or evidence yet of the group's effect on illegal dumping.
