Press release: Spot check crackdown on waste carriers in Enfield

Last week the Environment Agency took part in a multi-agency day with the Metropolitan Police Commercial Vehicle Unit, DVSA and HMRC Road Fuel Testing Unit in a bid to reduce and disrupt waste crime.

During the day of action, numerous commercial vehicles were checked by each agency including nine carrying controlled waste. Environment Agency officers checked that these operators had a permit to carry waste, had the correct duty of care paperwork and were describing the waste they were carrying correctly and weren’t misdescribing it. Officers also checked whether waste was being transported to authorised and legitimate sites where it would be handled correctly.

Senior Environmental Crime Officer Julia Leigh said:

Multi-agency days of action are a valuable tool in preventing and disrupting waste crime. We want to make it very clear to people that everyone, including households, have a duty of care to ensure their waste is managed and disposed of correctly by the people they give it to. If you use illegal waste carriers to take your rubbish, you risk being fined up to £5,000.

Gareth Llewellyn, DVSA Chief Executive, said:

DVSA is committed to protecting you from unsafe drivers and vehicles. By combining our enforcement powers and intelligence with that of the Environment Agency, we’re effectively targeting waste operators breaking the rules and putting themselves and other road users at risk. We won’t hesitate to issue fines, or take vehicles off our roads, if we find waste carriers operating in an unsafe manner.

Waste being transported with no authorisations is likely to end up at illegal waste sites. Such sites store waste in vast quantities and for long periods of time posing significant risks to health and the environment, like pest infestations and fires, which could lead to water and land contamination plus air pollution from smoke. Illegal waste sites are often the cause of odour complaints too.

Julia Leigh added:

The Environment Agency wants to make sure businesses carrying waste have the proper authorisations to allow them to transport and transfer waste: a waste carrier’s registration from the Environment Agency and waste transfer note from the waste producer.

People who manage waste illegally cost the taxpayer millions every year in clean-up costs. They undercut legitimate business, pose a direct threat to sustainable growth in the waste management sector, take valuable resource from the public sector, and private land owners can be left with bills running into hundreds of thousands of pounds in clean-up costs. Our enforcement days make sure that the right waste goes to the right place ‎to stop unpermitted businesses undermining legitimate businesses and help create a level playing field.

All media enquiries, please call 0800 141 2743. Or email us at southeastpressoffice1@environment-agency.gov.uk.

Further information

For information on how to apply as a waster carrier, broker or dealer, visit: www.gov.uk/waste-carrier-or-broker-registration.

People or businesses who transport, buy, sell or dispose of waste, or arrange for someone else to do so, must be registered. To check if someone is registered, visit: environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers.

To apply for an environmental permit please complete the appropriate form: www.gov.uk/topic/environmental-management/environmental-permits.



Press release: Thales Alenia Space signs contract with the UK Space Agency to work on climate change mission

Thales Alenia Space has signed a contract with the UK Space Agency to work on MicroCarb, a joint UK-French satellite mission which will measure sources and sinks of carbon, the principal greenhouse gas driving global warming. It is the first European mission intended to characterise greenhouse gas fluxes on Earth’s surface and gauge how much carbon is being absorbed by oceans and forests, the main sinks on the planet.

The mission, scheduled to launch in 2020, will also contribute to international efforts to measure how much carbon gas is being emitted by natural processes and human activities. MicroCarb will enable the UK Space Agency and CNES to pave the way for a longer term operational system in response to the Paris COP21 Agreement.

Ben Olivier, CEO of Thales Alenia Space in the UK and Jo Johnson, Science Minister.

Thales Alenia Space engineers will work closely with the CNES project team and then take full responsibility to manage and deliver the satellite AIT programme at the UK’s National Satellite Test Facility (NSTF) in Harwell. This world class facility, due to open in 2020, has been awarded £99 million in funding by the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to boost the UK’s space capabilities for the design and build of more complex space instruments and technologically advanced satellites.

Science Minister, Jo Johnson, speaking on a visit to Thales Alenia Space’s Belfast facility, said:

“The UK space sector is brimming with talent and our collaboration with France on MicroCarb is an excellent platform to demonstrate our cutting-edge science and engineering, which is at the core of our Industrial Strategy.

“It is great to see our £99m investment in the new National Satellite Test Facility is already making a difference for the sector. This facility will make Harwell a world-class hub for innovative space technology, helping UK companies like Thales Alenia Space be more competitive in the global market and support our ambition to capture 10% of the global space market by 2030.”

Ben Olivier and Jo Johnson in Thales clean room.

The contract reflects Thales Alenia Space’s strategy of growing its European footprint and is fully in line with market trends and growth dynamics.

Ben Olivier, CEO of Thales Alenia Space in the UK, said:

“MicroCarb will be a significant demonstration of what space technology and science from satellites can contribute to the understanding of the carbon cycle; ultimately helping decision makers to develop the best policies to make the World a better place. We are proud to be a part of this effort.”

For Thales Alenia Space in the UK, this is a significant milestone in the recognition of the company’s developing capability as a Prime contractor in the UK for major space missions.

The Assembly Integration and Test of the MicroCarb satellite is Thales Alenia Space in the UK’s first opportunity to work with CNES to deliver on an important Earth Observation Mission. It also demonstrates the confidence and trust placed in Thales Alenia Space in the UK and its teams of highly skilled engineers.



News story: DCDC hosts Northern Group working group

Hosted by the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC), the event was attended by ten of the Northern Group member nations, including Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Sweden and The Netherlands.

A think tank within the Northern Group, the Northern Group Centre for Conceptual Thinking (NGCCT) provides a forum for collaborative discussion, idea exchange and mutual understanding of issues and opportunities. This event aimed to highlight security issues of interest to all NGCCT members, such as the High North and Modern Deterrence.

Led by the DCDC Futures team, the High North discussion examined the strategic significance of melting Arctic sea ice. Members then divided into syndicates, to present national perspectives on potential scenarios arising from this discussion.

To provide a context for discussion of the common challenges associated with deterrence in 21st century Europe, the DCDC Doctrine team introduced ‘Joint Doctrine Note (JDN) 06, modern deterrence: the military contribution’, currently being drafted.

Further NGCCT events, hosted by other Northern Group member states, are being planned for 2018.



Notice: SY4 4JJ, David Davies Resources Ltd: environmental permit issued

The Environment Agency publish permits that they issue under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).

This decision includes the permit and decision for:

  • Operator name: David Davies Resources Ltd
  • Installation name: Wytheford House Farm
  • Permit number: EPR/ZP3033JP/A001


Notice: TF9 3RZ, Mr Michael Harrison: environmental permit application advertisement

The Environment Agency consults the public on certain applications for waste operations, mining waste operations, installations, water discharge and groundwater activities. The arrangements are explained in its Public Participation Statement

These notices explain:

  • what the application is about
  • how you can view the application documents
  • when you need to comment by

The Environment Agency will decide:

  • whether to grant or refuse the application
  • what conditions to include in the permit (if granted)