Waste Management

(asked on 18th April 2018) - View Source

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

To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Environment Agency can use income from its permitting activities in the waste sector to pursue and bring to prosecution illegal waste operators.


This question was answered on 1st May 2018

The Environment Agency (EA) currently spends around £15 million a year on waste enforcement and tackling waste crime. This is funded through Grant in Aid and the Landfill Communities Fund. An independent review of waste crime in 2014, commissioned by the Environment Services Association Education Trust, found that for every £1 they spend on waste crime, £5 is generated for the economy from their enforcement effort, including for HM Treasury in tax revenue.

Under rules for managing public money, the EA cannot use income generated from charges, including that from waste permits, on enforcement or waste crime activities. However, the EA is currently developing proposals for a further review of its charges which will explore options for changes to charging rules, which could allow for the use of permit income to tackle waste crime in the future.

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