House of Lords: an update on its inquiry into waste crime
20 March 2026
Waste crime crackdown – police-style powers for EA officers?
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Insight Article 05 May 2026 05 May 2026
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UK & Europe
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Casualty claims
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Insurance
After mounting pressure and high-profile scrutiny, a concerted crack-down on waste crime appears to be underway, consisting of multiple bold reforms which go as far as proposing police-style powers for Environment Agency (EA) officers.
The granting of police-style powers would indicate a tangible shift in the fight against waste crime, demonstrating more assertive frontline enforcement and reinforcing the new commitment to a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to criminals operating in the waste sector
“We’re giving the Environment Agency the police-like powers they need to stop waste criminals in their tracks and bring those responsible swiftly to justice.”
Environment Secretary, Emma Reynolds
“We will give the Environment Agency the power they need to crack down on these reckless criminals”.
Crime and Policing Minister, Sarah Jones
The proposed granting of police powers is addressed in the Waste Crime Action Plan (“the Plan”), published by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (“Defra”) on 20 March 2026, which blends together a strategy of tougher enforcement, tighter regulation, and greater collaboration between agencies.
How will this impact businesses?
The message set out in the Plan is explicit – a zero-tolerance approach is being adopted against waste criminals, an issue which has grown in scale and complexity.
Legitimate operators are likely to benefit from a more level playing field as illegal competitors are targeted more effectively. However, given the focus on enforcement, it is paramount for businesses to ensure they remain compliant. With the prospect of increased inspections and audits, the ramifications of potential non-compliance include criminal prosecution with the associated reputational damage.
Recognising that illegally managed waste accounts for an estimated 20% of all waste crime, we anticipate greater scrutiny by the EA on businesses’ waste management arrangements. With this in mind, we suggest businesses, in particular, review compliance with their waste duty of care obligations; to include ensuring waste is being handled by authorised carriers, taken to appropriately permitted sites, and that relevant records are maintained.
So, why is waste crime in the spotlight?
The increased focus on waste crime reflects several overlapping policy priorities. Economically, waste crime undermines legitimate businesses and is said to cost the economy around £1 billion each year. Environmentally, it poses a direct threat to ecosystems and public health, whilst politically, the visibility of waste crime has increased along with growing public concern about fly-tipping and illegal dumping.
Respondents to the National Waste Crime Survey 2025 felt that the EA is not effective in tackling waste crime, and that the issue requires severe sanctions. This has led to increased scrutiny of enforcement agencies and calls for stronger action.
What does the Plan propose?
The Plan contains a comprehensive package of new measures aimed at tackling illegal waste activity through a more co-ordinated and hard-hitting response than ever before. It is supported by new tools, increased funding, and enhanced powers and is made up of 3 key objectives: Prevent, Enforce, and Remediate.
Objective 1 - Prevention:
Three major regulatory reforms are being progressed by Defra:
- Moving the regulation of waste management and transport from a ‘light-touch’ registration-system into the environmental permitting regime. Penalties for offenders will increase to up to 5 years’ imprisonment.
- Digital waste tracking will replace paper-based monitoring of waste movements.
- Three waste permit exemptions will be removed, and seven conditions will be tightened, due to previous exploitation. Enhanced record-keeping will be required from exemption-holders and exemption limits will be imposed.
In addition, various tools, data and capabilities for prevention are being implemented such as: increased use of enforcement notices; suspension, revocation and de-registration of permits for persistent poor performance or where intelligence suggests operators/carriers are diverting waste from the legitimate supply chain; fit and proper permit checks; seizure of vehicles; and tax-evasion measures whereby waste-permit renewals could become conditional upon applicants passing HMRC tax checks.
Objective 2 - Enforce:
“…While having more boots on the ground is important in tackling these criminal networks, we also need to make sure our officers have as many powers as possible to bring them down”.
from Philip Duffy, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency
Defra states “this government is equally determined to pursue those who have committed waste crimes with every tool at its disposal”, leaving no room for ambiguity regarding the seriousness in its attitude towards enforcement. This will be achieved through various steps, to include:
- More than £50 million of funding has been allocated to the EA over the next 3 financial years to increase on the ground enforcement activity.
- Additional enforcement powers for the EA, i.e. ‘police style enforcement powers’ are being considered by Defra and the Home Office.
- Potential powers for local authorities to issue conditional cautions, which could result in unpaid work and carrying out/covering the cost of clean-up by offenders.
- A brand new ‘Operational Waste Intelligence and Analysis Unit’ is being created, combining visual imagery, financial information, criminal data and other intelligence in one place for the first time, to detect unusual activity earlier.
- Expansion of the Joint Unit for Waste Crime to 20 members of staff.
- Collaboration with HM Land Registry to access data to identify unusual and emerging waste crime patterns earlier.
- Technological developments including a new screening tool which scans HGV operator licence applications against relevant registers to identify businesses that may be carrying waste illegally, and geospatial imaging technology using drones to provide sharper, more timely intelligence on illegal waste activity; see our article here.
- Naming and shaming illegal waste operators and penalty points on the driving licences of fly-tippers.
- Informing banks and financing companies of waste criminality, which may jeopardise offenders’ business relations and financing arrangements
Objective 3 - Remediate:
The final objective seeks to remove illegal waste sites and remediate land, as enforcement alone does not address the harm caused.
The government has committed to clearing the most egregious illegal waste sites. Criteria has been developed to objectively identify the sites with the greatest need for clearance.
On an exceptional basis, the EA will step in to clear sites where waste presents an untenable risk to the public and the environment. Criminal prosecution will still be pursued, and costs of the clearance will also be sought from the offender.
Defra will work with the insurance industry to explore access to insurance options for landowners and businesses against illegal waste dumping on their land.
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