Our top waste crime stories

Reddem Ltd, based at Queens Road, Wooler, appeared at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on Friday 13 February. It pleaded guilty to one offence of operating an illegal waste site and another of keeping or treating waste in a way likely to cause pollution to the environment or harm to human health by storing waste containing asbestos in open containers.

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A prolific waste criminal has been ordered to hand over more than £1.4 million for illegally dumping in excess of 4,275 tonnes of waste across England.

A nationwide investigation by the Environment Agency uncovered a network of 16 illegal dumping sites, stretching from the northeast to the south coast. Farms, a historic manor house and a nature reserve were among the locations trashed.

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Now under investigation, 2 men have been arrested in relation to waste dumped in a field near Romford. Essex Police responded to a 999 call about waste left on private land close to the M25’s junction with the M11, in the village of Stapleford Tawney.

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An arrest has been made and heavy goods vehicle seized during an investigation into suspected illegal waste dumping in Merseyside.

On Monday 2 February, following allegations of illegal dumping, the Environment Agency joined forces with the Joint Unit for Waste Crime (JUWC) and Merseyside Police in the operation at an alleged illegal waste site in Liverpool.

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Two individuals from Essex have been arrested for illegally dumping waste at six locations across Warwickshire, Derbyshire and Buckinghamshire, the Environment Agency has announced today (Friday 6 January).

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The Environment Agency has blocked access to land in Yorkshire to prevent the illegal dumping of waste. A court order is now in place prohibiting anyone from importing waste into the site at Pyethornes Farm in Wigglesworth, Skipton.

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The Environment Agency have issued a Restriction Order on an illegal waste site at Power Station Road on the Isle of Sheppey. This allows the Environment Agency to prevent anyone entering the site without express permission.

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A Cornwall-based liquid waste collection business has been ordered to repay £600,000 after being prosecuted by the Environment Agency. Roger and Angela Smith, trading as R & A Cleansing, based at Ashwell Farm, Coads Green, Callington, Cornwall pleaded guilty to the offences at Truro Crown Court on 30 January 2026.

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One man has been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into the large-scale, illegal tipping of waste at a site in Kidlington, the Environment Agency has announced today (3 February 2026). A 52-year-old male from Ashford in Surrey was arrested yesterday (2 February 2026). This brings the total number of arrests to four, following two arrests made last week and an arrest made in November.

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Two men have been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into the large-scale, illegal tipping of waste at a site in Kidlington, the Environment Agency has announced today (30 January). In warrants executed yesterday (29 January), officers from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU), working in support of the Environment Agency and alongside Thames Valley Police, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary and Surrey Police, secured the arrest of the suspects at two separate locations.

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