Waste Crime is unstoppable  

It’s an uncomfortable headline that few will admit to because we don’t want it to be true. Unfortunately, it’s also the current reality in the UK. I say this because recent news headlines show a prime example: If a site that’s currently under investigation for waste crime, which sits on land owned by none other than the King, can still operate, albeit illegally, what hope is there that it’ll ever be stopped?

It’s not as though there aren’t laws against illegal dumping or mechanisms to deal with illegal operators. However, it seems as though waste criminals are always two steps ahead, acting with impunity while various agencies argue over who’s responsible and who’s actually going to clean up the mess.

Playing into the hands of criminals

The tragedy is that while the waste management industry has the necessary green skills and knowledge to address some of these situations, they don’t have the authority to act. Also, often just reporting a crime can put their business at risk. Criminals don’t like getting caught, and well, they’re criminals so they tend to get a bit nasty.

This leaves the waste industry with few options. They might be able to report crimes they’re aware of. They may also be able to make suggestions for addressing the contamination, but their hands are effectively tied when it comes to implementing an actual solution.

Even more frustrating is that while waste criminals get away with breaking the law, legal operators are held to stringent standards. Meeting these standards requires extensive reporting and paperwork, certifications and inspections. Across sites waste operators often employ multiple people to oversee and maintain compliance. The penalties for non-compliance are stiff, and operating licenses can be revoked. On that, the law is fairly black and white. This isn’t always the case, however, with waste crime.

The grey area of who’s responsible?

According to broad interpretation of the law, it’s the responsibility of the landowner to clean up the site. However, in the case of the illegal landfill site that happens to be on part of the Kings Estate, things are not quite as clear cut. The land was absorbed into the King’s estate though an ancient law, meaning it was inherited. The response form the Duchy is that no liabilities came with the inheritance. 

Government then? Surely the Environment Agency has a responsibility to clean up the site? Investigations and interventions stopping the dumping of more waste are a start, but what about the risks to the community from what’s already on site? There’s already been one fire resulting in acrid smoke and the closure of a nearby school. More delays only serve to increase the risk of that happening again.

Counting the cost of waste

There’s an aspect of waste crime that rarely gets talked about. It’s too easy to illegally dump waste. An empty field, a mixed load, not hard to dump when no-one’s around. Compare that to the process of sorting, cleaning and processing it all. Despite the risks, it’s simply much cheaper and easier to dump it.

Whether we want to admit it or not, it is a symptom of system failure. There’s no denying that waste collections and recycling is complex. After all that’s exactly what some of the Simpler Recycling Reforms are trying to address. The question is: will reforming recycling make any difference to waste crime – likely not. So, what will? Perhaps the focus should be on finances.

Waste crime is happening because people or companies are trying to avoid the cost of proper disposal. It’s lingering because no-other organization wants to foot the bill of cleaning it up either. As long as waste remains a cost, and as long as the volumes of waste are allowed to grow unhindered, finding a solution is always going to be challenging.

A new view

The policies for waste that need to accelerate are those further up the chain, to packaging and product design and the materials. Legislating a percentage of recycled materials may seem like progress, but for waste management it only adds another headache. More mixed materials requiring more complex recycling systems. Skewed economics with subsidised materials keeping prices artificially low on virgin plastics don’t help either. Without demand, recycled materials lose value.

Granted, on many levels these discussions are taking place, but they’re rarely co-ordinated across sectors and progress is painfully slow. And in the meantime, waste crime continues and expectation is that it’s the job of waste management to clean up the mess. Perhaps it’s time for waste management to take the lead, leverage the expertise and green skills that make the sector successful, and develop the blueprint that can finally start to curb waste crime.