Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle operators who do not dispose of waste appropriately despite holding valid waste licences; and whether he plans to take further steps to improve enforcement against licensed waste operators who breach environmental regulations.

Waste sites in England are regulated by the Environment Agency (EA) under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 which include a range of penalties including fines and imprisonment for breaches of conditions. The EA also takes action against illegal operators who abuse and ignore the rules.

The Secretary of State has recently announced plans to tighten up the regulation of those who transport and manage waste services, moving them from a light-touch registration system into environmental permitting. Councils to seize and crush fly-tipping vehicles to clean up Britain - GOV.UK. This will give the EA a greater range of powers and more resources to be able to take action against those operating illegally.

Additionally, we will reform the waste permit exemptions regime by removing three exemptions and requiring those activities to be fully permitted and tightening the controls around 7 other exemptions. This will ensure greater oversight of activities which are being abused by waste criminals.