Waste crime: stand with us to end waste crime

Waste crime is a serious and persistent challenge - organised, damaging and costing the UK over £1 billion every year. It hits communities, harms the environment and undermines honest businesses and landowners.

Those who commit waste crime range from rogue traders who legally collect waste but illegally dump it to avoid fees, to organised groups that acquire land or warehouses and fill them with thousands of tonnes of waste in weeks. These networks can operate like businesses and often connect to wider criminal activity.

Waste crime is not new, and neither is the response to it. But we know the challenge has grown, and that our response must grow with it. Under-reporting remains a significant barrier — and every report, however small, helps us build the intelligence picture that allows us to act earlier and more effectively.


We have been working on this - and we are doing more

The Environment Agency and its partners have been tackling waste crime for many years. Our work through the Joint Unit for Waste Crime, our Economic Crime Unit, and our close partnerships with police, local authorities, HMRC, fire services, landowners, industry and community groups has delivered real results.

In 2024/25 alone, working with partners:

  • We stopped 743 illegal waste sites operating without permits, including 143 assessed as higher risk
  • Brought 229 sites into regulation, working with business
  • Responded to 203 illegal dumping incidents
  • The Joint Unit for Waste Crime led 37 operations, resulting in 40 arrests
  • The Economic Crime Unit conducted 21 money laundering investigations, secured six account freezing orders (£2.9 million frozen), and obtained 13 confiscation orders totalling £1.55 million

Over the three years to March 2025:

  • We achieved 211 prosecutions, resulting in £640k in fines and 20 custodial sentences

This work matters. But we recognise we need to go further - acting earlier, faster and more consistently to stay ahead of those who seek to profit from waste crime.


Understanding the scale and nature of the challenge

There are currently around 700 known illegal waste sites across England. It is important to be clear about what this means in practice. Many of these sites present lower levels of risk and we will bring many into compliance through regulatory action and engagement with operators. A smaller number - sites like those involving large-scale organised criminality - present the most serious risks and receive our most intensive attention.

People who work in the industry estimate that as much as 20% of waste may be handled illegally somewhere in the supply chain. Around 27% of waste crimes are currently reported, which means much activity goes unseen. We are working steadily to improve that picture - because better intelligence allows us to target our efforts where they are most needed.

Waste crime is complex to track and challenging to address. We will not claim otherwise. But we are making progress, and we are determined to build on it.


What we are doing - and stepping up - this year

Building on existing work and partnerships, we are launching a focused, sustained programme of action to strengthen prevention, improve detection and deliver more consistent enforcement. This is not a new direction - it is a deepening and acceleration of work already under way.

1. Faster intelligence handling and a more consistent response

We will work with Crimestoppers to improve intelligence flows, increase public reporting and share heat maps of reported waste crime. We will work to ensure faster, more consistent responses across Environment Agency areas, narrowing the gap between intelligence received and action on the ground. We will also strengthen the intelligence we receive from industry partners to build a more accurate and timely picture.

2. Earlier intervention on larger sites

We will act earlier to address illegal activity before it becomes more firmly established. We will expand our use of restriction notices and work with Government to improve the regime so we can intervene more quickly and effectively. We will use more Fixed Penalty Notices, and other enforcement tools to deter those who enable or cooperate with waste criminals.

3. A new unit to improve national understanding of waste crime

We are creating a new Operational Waste Intelligence and Analysis Unit, integrating intelligence, visual imagery, financial and criminal data to help identify risks earlier and support more effective enforcement. This unit will share its findings across criminal justice partners.

4. Greater transparency to engage communities

Our online Waste Hub will provide more accessible information on waste crime activity and our response to it. We will share data and information on illegal waste activities and expand our Waste Crime campaign. Communities are our partners in this — their eyes, ears and reports make a real difference.

5. Naming operators involved in illegal activity

Where the evidence supports it, we will name illegal waste sites so that those working in the waste sector understand who has been involved in the mishandling of waste. We will write to waste producers and transfer stations to alert them to investigations. We expect operators to take reasonable steps to assure themselves that their waste is being handled lawfully.

6. Involvement in waste crime will put permits at risk

Businesses and Industry must assure themselves that their waste is not ending up illegally dumped. Where our intelligence indicates that operators or waste carriers are diverting waste from the legitimate supply chain, we will use our regulatory powers — including deregistering authorisations, suspending or revoking permits — where the evidence supports it. Fit and proper permit checks will help stop permits being transferred to unscrupulous operators. We will engage stakeholders in spring 2026 on how we can strengthen this approach further.

7. Expanding partnership working nationally and locally

We will continue to build on our established partnerships working side by side with the police with police, HMRC, local authorities and other enforcement agencies, intensifying joint operations and combining our powers more effectively. We will scale up multi-agency days of action, share intelligence more quickly, and coordinate more targeted interventions on the ground. Partner organisations have the powers and intelligence to make a key difference. This includes coordinated activity with HMRC at sites where tax related non compliance or criminality is suspected.

8. Identifying sites at risk of waste dumping

We will work in partnership with HM Land Registry to further strengthen how information on land ownership and transactions is shared and used. We will continue working with Government on ways to reduce opportunities for land to be transferred to parties who cannot be held accountable, which can leave sites vulnerable to illegal dumping.

9. Acting on persistent poor operator performance

Where we see operators of permitted waste sites remaining in the lowest performance bands for two or more consecutive years, we will use our regulatory powers more decisively, including suspension or revocation of permits where the evidence supports it. We expect to engage stakeholders in spring 2026 on how we can further sharpen this approach.

At the same time, we will reduce routine regulatory activity at consistently well performing sites, allowing us to focus our effort and inspections where the risks and harms are greatest.

10. Closing loopholes and tightening controls

We will work with Government to support reforms to exemptions, carriers and brokers regulation, the introduction of digital waste tracking and other changes needed to keep pace with criminal tactics. Once Government brings these powers into effect, we will ensure they are fully deployed to identify waste going missing and support the removal of rogue operators from the sector.


What we need from others

  • The Environment Agency cannot address waste crime alone. But by working together, we can respond more quickly when illegal dumping occurs and intervene earlier in the waste supply chain.
  • Report suspected waste crime. Every report helps us build the picture that enables earlier action. Report illegal dumping, suspicious waste movements or burning, unlicensed operators, or unusually cheap disposal offers to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
  • Check before you use a waste carrier. Check the public register of waste carriers before paying anyone to take your waste away. If they are not on the register, they are operating illegally.
  • Stronger local partnership working. Police, local authorities, HMRC, fire services, landowners, industry and community groups all have a role to play.
  • Support for legislative and regulatory reform. Some of the changes needed - including new powers, higher penalties and improved tracking - will require legislative change. We welcome political and public support for that work.

We are committed to playing our part. Together, we can make meaningful and lasting progress against waste crime.

Waste crime is a serious and persistent challenge - organised, damaging and costing the UK over £1 billion every year. It hits communities, harms the environment and undermines honest businesses and landowners.

Those who commit waste crime range from rogue traders who legally collect waste but illegally dump it to avoid fees, to organised groups that acquire land or warehouses and fill them with thousands of tonnes of waste in weeks. These networks can operate like businesses and often connect to wider criminal activity.

Waste crime is not new, and neither is the response to it. But we know the challenge has grown, and that our response must grow with it. Under-reporting remains a significant barrier — and every report, however small, helps us build the intelligence picture that allows us to act earlier and more effectively.


We have been working on this - and we are doing more

The Environment Agency and its partners have been tackling waste crime for many years. Our work through the Joint Unit for Waste Crime, our Economic Crime Unit, and our close partnerships with police, local authorities, HMRC, fire services, landowners, industry and community groups has delivered real results.

In 2024/25 alone, working with partners:

  • We stopped 743 illegal waste sites operating without permits, including 143 assessed as higher risk
  • Brought 229 sites into regulation, working with business
  • Responded to 203 illegal dumping incidents
  • The Joint Unit for Waste Crime led 37 operations, resulting in 40 arrests
  • The Economic Crime Unit conducted 21 money laundering investigations, secured six account freezing orders (£2.9 million frozen), and obtained 13 confiscation orders totalling £1.55 million

Over the three years to March 2025:

  • We achieved 211 prosecutions, resulting in £640k in fines and 20 custodial sentences

This work matters. But we recognise we need to go further - acting earlier, faster and more consistently to stay ahead of those who seek to profit from waste crime.


Understanding the scale and nature of the challenge

There are currently around 700 known illegal waste sites across England. It is important to be clear about what this means in practice. Many of these sites present lower levels of risk and we will bring many into compliance through regulatory action and engagement with operators. A smaller number - sites like those involving large-scale organised criminality - present the most serious risks and receive our most intensive attention.

People who work in the industry estimate that as much as 20% of waste may be handled illegally somewhere in the supply chain. Around 27% of waste crimes are currently reported, which means much activity goes unseen. We are working steadily to improve that picture - because better intelligence allows us to target our efforts where they are most needed.

Waste crime is complex to track and challenging to address. We will not claim otherwise. But we are making progress, and we are determined to build on it.


What we are doing - and stepping up - this year

Building on existing work and partnerships, we are launching a focused, sustained programme of action to strengthen prevention, improve detection and deliver more consistent enforcement. This is not a new direction - it is a deepening and acceleration of work already under way.

1. Faster intelligence handling and a more consistent response

We will work with Crimestoppers to improve intelligence flows, increase public reporting and share heat maps of reported waste crime. We will work to ensure faster, more consistent responses across Environment Agency areas, narrowing the gap between intelligence received and action on the ground. We will also strengthen the intelligence we receive from industry partners to build a more accurate and timely picture.

2. Earlier intervention on larger sites

We will act earlier to address illegal activity before it becomes more firmly established. We will expand our use of restriction notices and work with Government to improve the regime so we can intervene more quickly and effectively. We will use more Fixed Penalty Notices, and other enforcement tools to deter those who enable or cooperate with waste criminals.

3. A new unit to improve national understanding of waste crime

We are creating a new Operational Waste Intelligence and Analysis Unit, integrating intelligence, visual imagery, financial and criminal data to help identify risks earlier and support more effective enforcement. This unit will share its findings across criminal justice partners.

4. Greater transparency to engage communities

Our online Waste Hub will provide more accessible information on waste crime activity and our response to it. We will share data and information on illegal waste activities and expand our Waste Crime campaign. Communities are our partners in this — their eyes, ears and reports make a real difference.

5. Naming operators involved in illegal activity

Where the evidence supports it, we will name illegal waste sites so that those working in the waste sector understand who has been involved in the mishandling of waste. We will write to waste producers and transfer stations to alert them to investigations. We expect operators to take reasonable steps to assure themselves that their waste is being handled lawfully.

6. Involvement in waste crime will put permits at risk

Businesses and Industry must assure themselves that their waste is not ending up illegally dumped. Where our intelligence indicates that operators or waste carriers are diverting waste from the legitimate supply chain, we will use our regulatory powers — including deregistering authorisations, suspending or revoking permits — where the evidence supports it. Fit and proper permit checks will help stop permits being transferred to unscrupulous operators. We will engage stakeholders in spring 2026 on how we can strengthen this approach further.

7. Expanding partnership working nationally and locally

We will continue to build on our established partnerships working side by side with the police with police, HMRC, local authorities and other enforcement agencies, intensifying joint operations and combining our powers more effectively. We will scale up multi-agency days of action, share intelligence more quickly, and coordinate more targeted interventions on the ground. Partner organisations have the powers and intelligence to make a key difference. This includes coordinated activity with HMRC at sites where tax related non compliance or criminality is suspected.

8. Identifying sites at risk of waste dumping

We will work in partnership with HM Land Registry to further strengthen how information on land ownership and transactions is shared and used. We will continue working with Government on ways to reduce opportunities for land to be transferred to parties who cannot be held accountable, which can leave sites vulnerable to illegal dumping.

9. Acting on persistent poor operator performance

Where we see operators of permitted waste sites remaining in the lowest performance bands for two or more consecutive years, we will use our regulatory powers more decisively, including suspension or revocation of permits where the evidence supports it. We expect to engage stakeholders in spring 2026 on how we can further sharpen this approach.

At the same time, we will reduce routine regulatory activity at consistently well performing sites, allowing us to focus our effort and inspections where the risks and harms are greatest.

10. Closing loopholes and tightening controls

We will work with Government to support reforms to exemptions, carriers and brokers regulation, the introduction of digital waste tracking and other changes needed to keep pace with criminal tactics. Once Government brings these powers into effect, we will ensure they are fully deployed to identify waste going missing and support the removal of rogue operators from the sector.


What we need from others

  • The Environment Agency cannot address waste crime alone. But by working together, we can respond more quickly when illegal dumping occurs and intervene earlier in the waste supply chain.
  • Report suspected waste crime. Every report helps us build the picture that enables earlier action. Report illegal dumping, suspicious waste movements or burning, unlicensed operators, or unusually cheap disposal offers to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
  • Check before you use a waste carrier. Check the public register of waste carriers before paying anyone to take your waste away. If they are not on the register, they are operating illegally.
  • Stronger local partnership working. Police, local authorities, HMRC, fire services, landowners, industry and community groups all have a role to play.
  • Support for legislative and regulatory reform. Some of the changes needed - including new powers, higher penalties and improved tracking - will require legislative change. We welcome political and public support for that work.

We are committed to playing our part. Together, we can make meaningful and lasting progress against waste crime.

Page published: 20 Mar 2026, 12:01 AM