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Waging war on illegal dumpers

Oct 18 2009 by Phil Doherty, Sunday Sun

A SCHEME being piloted in the North is putting pressure on organised criminal gangs operating waste companies, and people who dump waste illegally across the region.

The swat scheme, which encourages members of the public to act as the eyes and ears of the Environment Agency (EA), will eventually be rolled out across the UK.

It involves multi-agencies working together to pool resources to combat the scourge of cowboy waste management firms and criminals who fly-tip and operate illegal waste dumps on private land.

John Robertson, head of the EA’s North East Environmental Crime Office, said: “We operate a confidential source register where members of the public can contact the EA with information ranging from fly-tipping to the illegal dumping and storing of hazardous waste materials.

“What we find is that there are strong links with organised criminals who will set up a skip company or waste management company to obtain access to land where they stock pile hazardous waste instead of disposing of it properly.

“This can, on some occasions, be thousands of tonnes. They also use it for money laundering as you need to have legitimate companies to pass the ill-gotten cash through the books.”

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