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A new crackdown on cowboy waste operators will tackle soaring fly tipping and clean up Britain’s streets, lanes and rural areas, the Government has announced on:- Tuesday, 29 April 2025.

Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed said:- "Waste criminals and fly tippers who blight our towns and villages have gone unpunished for too long. That ends today. The Government is calling time on fly-tipping. I will not stand by while this avalanche of rubbish buries our communities. Under the Plan for Change, this Government will seize and crush fly tippers vans to clean up Britain's streets."

We are told that Councils will now be work with the Police to identify, seize and crush vehicles of waste criminals. Drones and mobile CCTV cameras will be deployed to identify cars and vans belonging to fly tippers so they can be destroyed.

In addition, under the nder new legislation waste anyone caught:- transporting and dealing with waste illegally, will now face up to 5 years in prison under new the legislation!

It is worth adding that Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed has also publicly added:- "Waste criminals and fly tippers who blight our towns and villages have gone unpunished for too long. That ends today. The Government is calling time on fly tipping. I will not stand by while this avalanche of rubbish buries our communities. Under the Plan for Change, this Government will seize and crush fly tippers vans’ to clean up Britain’s streets. These measures support the Government’s Plan for Change and will help deliver its key mission of Safer Streets for the public, restoring communities’ faith in efforts to combat anti social behaviour. Waste crime is trashing communities across the country. Fly tipping has skyrocketed by a fifth whilst the number of prosecutions has fallen by the same amount since 2018/19. The failure to punish these criminals has left our high streets, roads and countryside buried under an avalanche of rubbish. The Environment Agency will also carry out identity and criminal record checks on operators in the sector so there is nowhere to hide for rogue firms. It will be handed more resources as they will now be able to fund the cost of policing the industry through:- permits, boosting their powers and cutting costs for taxpayers. The reforms will also give them more power to:- revoke permits, issue enforcement notices and hefty fines."

In responce to the UK Government's announcement on Tuesday 29 April 2025 about:- 'fly tipping' including on seizing and crushing vehicles of waste criminals, Cllr Adam Hug, environment spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said:- "Fly tipping is inexcusable and makes residents' lives a misery by creating an eyesore, polluting the environment and presenting a serious public health risk. Making it easier for Councils to use existing powers to seize vehicles involved in fly-tipping is helpful, provided they can recover the full cost of doing so from perpetrators. Councils are working tirelessly to counter thousands of fly-tipping incidents every year, including by prosecuting criminal gangs, but the burden of proof is high and fines often fail to match the severity of the offence committed. We continue to urge the Government to review sentencing guidelines for fly tipping so that offenders are given bigger fines for more serious offences to act as a deterrent, alongside maximum 5 year sentences. Manufacturers should also contribute to the costs to Councils of clear up, by providing more take back services so people can hand in sofas, old furniture and mattresses when they buy new ones."

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