The Environment Agency and Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) have agreed on steps to stop illegal waste carriers and improve road safety in England.

Sir James Bevan, Environment Agency Chief Executive, and Gareth Llewellyn, DVSA Chief Executive, signed an agreement today (12 September 2017) in London.

How being a waste carrier works

Companies must register as a waste carrier if they:

• transport waste
• buy, sell or dispose of waste

However, some carriers operate illegally without the necessary licence, and don’t dispose of waste legally.

Companies who use a waste carrier must check they’re registered to dispose of waste, and not allow the waste carrier to dispose of their waste illegally.

Every year waste crime costs taxpayers and businesses £1 billion. The Environment Agency spent almost £15 million stopping illegal waste activity between April 2015 and March 2016.

What the agreement will do

The Environment Agency and DVSA will share intelligence and carry out joint operations in England to:

• stop waste being illegally transported
• target unsafe drivers and vehicles

The agreement will see:

• DVSA staff working within Environment Agency teams, making sure enforcement action is coordinated and effective
• information and intelligence shared between the 2 agencies, increasing the effectiveness of roadside enforcement activity on waste industry vehicles
• enforcement teams provided with up-to date and relevant intelligence about waste industry operators

This will all help to:

• identify high-risk or illegal goods vehicle operators who are involved in the transport of waste
• reduce the number of seriously and serially non-compliant waste industry vehicles on England’s roads

Report unsafe operators

You can report any information you have about to unsafe vehicle operators to DVSA.

Building on years of joint work

For a number of years, the Environment Agency and DVSA have worked together to stop waste crime, making sure companies are operating legally and vehicle safety is improved.

Gareth Llewellyn said:

DVSA priority is to protect you from unsafe drivers and vehicles.

I am delighted that we will be working with the Environment Agency to tackle those who illegally transport waste. By combining our enforcement powers and intelligence we’ll be able to target those who break the rules more effectively.

DVSA traffic examiners will issue fines to those waste carriers we find to be operating in and unsafe manner. These operators are putting themselves and other road users at risk and pose a danger to our environment.

Sir James Bevan said:

We want to protect people and communities from the impact that vehicle and waste crime can have and create a level playing field for all operators.

This memorandum of understanding with DVSA will help both organisations target the waste industry to improve compliance and vehicle and driver safety standards.

To help us with this, we are encouraging people to check with the Environment Agency if the company they are employing to take their waste away is a fully registered waste carrier.

The Environment Agency and Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) have agreed on steps to stop illegal waste carriers and improve road safety in England.

Sir James Bevan, Environment Agency Chief Executive, and Gareth Llewellyn, DVSA Chief Executive, signed an agreement today (12 September 2017) in London.

How being a waste carrier works

Companies must register as a waste carrier if they:

• transport waste
• buy, sell or dispose of waste

However, some carriers operate illegally without the necessary licence, and don’t dispose of waste legally.

Companies who use a waste carrier must check they’re registered to dispose of waste, and not allow the waste carrier to dispose of their waste illegally.

Every year waste crime costs taxpayers and businesses £1 billion. The Environment Agency spent almost £15 million stopping illegal waste activity between April 2015 and March 2016.

What the agreement will do

The Environment Agency and DVSA will share intelligence and carry out joint operations in England to:

• stop waste being illegally transported
• target unsafe drivers and vehicles

The agreement will see:

• DVSA staff working within Environment Agency teams, making sure enforcement action is coordinated and effective
• information and intelligence shared between the 2 agencies, increasing the effectiveness of roadside enforcement activity on waste industry vehicles
• enforcement teams provided with up-to date and relevant intelligence about waste industry operators

This will all help to:

• identify high-risk or illegal goods vehicle operators who are involved in the transport of waste
• reduce the number of seriously and serially non-compliant waste industry vehicles on England’s roads

Report unsafe operators

You can report any information you have about unsafe vehicle operators to DVSA.

Building on years of joint work

For a number of years, the Environment Agency and DVSA have worked together to stop waste crime, making sure companies are operating legally and vehicle safety is improved.

Gareth Llewellyn said:

DVSA priority is to protect you from unsafe drivers and vehicles.

I am delighted that we will be working with the Environment Agency to tackle those who illegally transport waste. By combining our enforcement powers and intelligence we’ll be able to target those who break the rules more effectively.

DVSA traffic examiners will issue fines to those waste carriers we find to be operating in an unsafe manner. These operators are putting themselves and other road users at risk and pose a danger to our environment.

Sir James Bevan said:

We want to protect people and communities from the impact that vehicle and waste crime can have and create a level playing field for all operators.

This memorandum of understanding with DVSA will help both organisations target the waste industry to improve compliance and vehicle and driver safety standards.

To help us with this, we are encouraging people to check with the Environment Agency if the company they are employing to take their waste away is a fully registered waste carrier.

Organised criminals are known to be targeting sites in the West Midlands where they are either requesting to store waste which has been baled or claiming they will use the site for other means like vehicle storage, and then filling the site with baled waste instead.

Landowners are being duped by these criminals with the promise of payment for storage, but even if an initial cash payment is made, the further promised monies don’t appear. Instead their land is filled up with the waste and they are left with clean-up costs that can run into the hundreds of thousands of pounds, or potentially a fine or custodial sentence leaving them with a criminal conviction on their record if the waste is not moved or disposed of in an appropriate manner.

The waste bales are being transported using curtain sided lorries and unloaded from the lorries using fork lift trucks. We would urge transport companies and plant hire companies to also be vigilant and not become part of this illegal activity.

Marc Lidderth, Environment Manager said:

A number of recent vehicle stops in the West Midlands found HGVs attempting to dispose of potentially illegal waste. These vehicles were stopped and the waste sent back to the original locations. The Environment Agency and police are investigating but we are unable to give any details at this time as it may damage any further investigations.

The storage of any baled or processed waste is not allowed without an environmental permit being in place. We are sending this warning to landowners, hauliers and plant hire companies to remain vigilant and to prevent them becoming a victim of this scam.

Waste companies, local authorities and businesses all have a responsibility to check what happens to their waste. We have specialist teams who work in partnership with the police and agencies like HMRC to tackle waste crime. This specialist crime unit uses intelligence to track and prosecute organised crime gangs involved in illegal waste activity.

If you or your company are approached or have any information about those involved in this scam please contact the Environment Agency via their incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or anonymously online via Crimestoppers or by calling 0800 555 111.

Organised criminals are known to be targeting sites in the West Midlands where they are either requesting to store waste which has been baled or claiming they will use the site for other means like vehicle storage, and then filling the site with baled waste instead.

Landowners are being duped by these criminals with the promise of payment for storage, but even if an initial cash payment is made, the further promised monies don’t appear. Instead their land is filled up with the waste and they are left with clean-up costs that can run into the hundreds of thousands of pounds, or potentially a fine or custodial sentence leaving them with a criminal conviction on their record if the waste is not moved or disposed of in an appropriate manner.

The waste bales are being transported using curtain sided lorries and unloaded from the lorries using fork lift trucks. We would urge transport companies and plant hire companies to also be vigilant and not become part of this illegal activity.

Marc Lidderth, Environment Manager said:

A number of recent vehicle stops in the West Midlands found HGVs attempting to dispose of potentially illegal waste. These vehicles were stopped and the waste sent back to the original locations. The Environment Agency and police are investigating but we are unable to give any details at this time as it may damage any further investigations.

The storage of any baled or processed waste is not allowed without an environmental permit being in place. We are sending this warning to landowners, hauliers and plant hire companies to remain vigilant and to prevent them becoming a victim of this scam.

Waste companies, local authorities and businesses all have a responsibility to check what happens to their waste. We have specialist teams who work in partnership with the police and agencies like HMRC to tackle waste crime. This specialist crime unit uses intelligence to track and prosecute organised crime gangs involved in illegal waste activity.

If you or your company are approached or have any information about those involved in this scam please contact the Environment Agency via their incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or anonymously online via Crimestoppers or by calling 0800 555 111.

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

This decision includes the permit, decision document for:

• Operator name: Jamie Robert Hatch and Raymond Russell Hatch
• Installation name: Kelly Bray Poultry Farm
• Permit number: EPR/YP3434HG/V005