'I will be watching closely' - Black Country MP welcomes £45 million crackdown on fly-tipping as Government launches toughest ever action plan
The Government has today launched its new Waste Crime Action Plan - the toughest ever crackdown on illegal waste - backed by an additional £45 million for the Environment Agency to pursue fly-tippers and organised criminal gangs across England.
Waste crime costs the economy £1 billion every year, with nearly 1.3 million incidents of fly-tipping recorded last year alone.
Alex Ballinger MP says residents have raised concerns about illegal dumping on Foxcote Lane in Cradley for years. “Not only is it a mess, it can also be dangerous for road users and pedestrians.”
Labour’s new Waste Crime Action Plan sets out a zero-tolerance approach, with action to prevent waste crime at its source by closing loopholes and equipping regulators with the tools they need to stop waste criminals.
Under the plans, the Government will ramp up efforts to punish offenders committing waste crime. This could see them ordered to complete up to 20 hours of unpaid work cleaning streets and parks as part of new “clean-up squads” and required to repay the cost of clearing the waste they illegally dumped.
The Government will also work with the insurance industry to create more comprehensive policies and remove any existing barriers, helping farmers, businesses and landowners to be covered for the cost of clearing illegally dumped waste from their land.
The Environment Agency will also gain new police-style powers to search premises, seize assets and make arrests, and will create a new Operational Waste Intelligence Unit to go after criminal networks using aerial surveillance and financial data.
Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Emma Reynolds said: “Waste criminals have been damaging our communities, countryside, environment and economy for too long. This Action Plan sends a clear message: dump illegally and you will face the full consequences.
“Waste criminals will be forced to join clean up squads and made to pay for the clearing of illegal waste sites. We will give enforcement officers new police-style powers to bring offenders to justice.”
Alex Ballinger MP said: "Local residents have had to put up with the eyesore on Foxcote Lane for too long. This plan is a real step forward. Fly-tippers now know that if they dump their waste across Halesowen, Cradley, Wollescote, Cradley Heath, Old Hill, Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood, there will be real consequences, and I will be watching closely to make sure those powers are used."
Matt Collins, Labour candidate for Cradley and Wollescote, said: “I hear from residents all the time about the terrible flytipping and waste on Foxcote Lane. Not only is the waste unpleasant, it also causes blockages on the road which puts public safety at risk. I welcome the Government’s new Waste Crime Action Plan and hope that it will put an end to flytipping.”
