MoreThanWaste.com - Waste crime doesn’t pay shows new report from the Environment Agency (07/09/2007)

"Waste cheats for example make money from their crimes, pollute our environment and damage the legitimate, law-abiding businesses. So the penalties need to reflect the seriousness of the crime", commented Barbara Young, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency.

The Chief Executive’s comments came on the day of the launch of a new report on Tuesday, which shows that Courts handed out more than 11 years behind bars, millions in court fines and more than 240 days of community service to individuals, companies and company directors who committed environmental crime last year.

Barbara Young said:

Barbara Young, Chief Executive, Environment Agency

"We’re pleased the courts are starting to get the message that environmental crime is a serious offence and handed out over £3.5 million in fines - a rise in nearly £1 million since 2005.

"Although this is a good sign, penalties for environmental crime still aren’t harsh enough. Some fines can be as low as a thousandth of a per cent of a company's worth and despite the higher penalties, the average fine was still only £11,800. The law is there to protect our environment and so those businesses and individuals who think they can cut corners best watch out - we won’t tolerate it."

Total fines against the waste sector overtook the water sector in 2006 with businesses in the waste sector totalling £778,077 in fines over £5,000 in value, compared to £623,075 for the water sector.

The Environment Agency has Environmental Crime Teams (ECTs) across England and Wales, which specialise in intelligence gathering and enforcement to fight against environmental crime. Anti social behaviour orders and curfew orders are just some of the means it has to crack down on offenders.

Last month, for example, the Agency’s ECTs together with the Assets Recovery Agency, obtained a court order to freeze and seek to recover assets from a waste criminal who was prosecuted for illegally dumping hazardous waste.

Barbara Young continued:

"Today’s report shows that there are many businesses and operators out there that are performing well with more than 50 per cent of the sites we regulate getting the top rating for environmental performance and management. We are not interested in hassling businesses and operators that run a good ship as it’s a waste of their time and ours. That’s why we focus our attention on helping the poorer performers and catching the rogues."

Spotlight

“Spotlight” is the Environment Agency’s annual report on the environmental performance of businesses in England and Wales.

Other findings from the report included:

Since 2000, the sites the Agency regulates have reduced releases of most air pollutants, including lead by 41 per cent and sulphur dioxide by 50 per cent.
Levels of greenhouse gases had decreased by 16.8 per cent since 1990, but in 2006 rose slightly meaning the sectors the Agency regulates now accounted for over 34% of all of the UK’s greenhouse gases. The increase appears to be linked to the thriving economy, though also in part due to a greater number of industries reporting to the Agency.
Over 40 per cent more waste was produced by sectors regulated by the Environment Agency compared to 2000, though a large amount of this increase is due to changes in regulation meaning more companies have to report the waste they produce to the Agency.
Emissions trading must step up a gear, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme is not driving greenhouse gases down fast enough. Emissions from installations covered by the scheme in England and Wales rose from 203.6 million tonnes in 2005 to 211.5 million tonnes in 2006.

Waste Sector

The waste sector released about seven per cent of greenhouse gases emitted by all sectors the Agency directly regulated in 2006. About 80 per cent of this came from landfill gas which is essentially a mix of carbon dioxide and methane.

The regulated waste sector had 769 serious breaches of its permit conditions in 2006 which was 27 per cent less than in 2005. These breaches were caused by just 185 businesses. The Agency is to focus more attention on these businesses and spend less time checking well-managed sites.

There were 124 serious pollution incidents compared to 151 in 2005 and encouragingly this is the lowest number on record. This improvement is due to the Environment Agency’s action against illegal waste activities as well as better performance within the waste sector, according to the Agency.

Methane produced a huge 22 petajoules of electricity supplied to the national grid which amounts to one and a half per cent of the UK’s total electricity demand.

Burning waste for energy contributes just over one per cent of GHG releases from all the sectors regulated by the Agency.

Paper and pulp

A decrease of nine per cent in greenhouse gases emissions in this sector compared with 2005.

Total waste produced (and transferred off-site) has also decreased by about nine per cent since 2005, continuing the gradual downward trend since 2000.

Construction and demolition

The construction and demolition industry produces 91 million tonnes of waste each year, the largest single source of waste in the UK. As many as 13 million tonnes of raw materials delivered to construction sites remain unused, before being sent away for disposal.

Energy

Total waste produced was at its lowest level since 2002. With 50 per cent recovered for further use.

Farming

Farms in England and Wales produce more than 300,000 tonnes of non-natural waste each year. Just under a third of this is plastic waste. About a quarter of farmers now recycle or recover non-natural waste, according to the Agency.

Food and drink

The Environment Agency says that the sites it regulates in this sector are the third highest producers of waste transferred off-site, of all the sites it regulates. The sector contributing 3.4 million tonnes of waste in 2006 of which 68 per cent was recovered.

Metals

The metals sector is a big user of recycled material from other sectors, in part because new raw materials are becoming harder to source. A significant 40 per cent approximately of UK steel and aluminium is produced from scrap metal.
Important quantities amounting to over two million end-of-life vehicles are processed by the sector and around two billion cans are recycled each year.

Further information

A copy of Spotlight 2006 is available online at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/spotlight or by calling the Environment Agency on 08708 506 506.


	Waste crime doesn’t pay shows new report from the Environment Agency (07/09/2007) "Waste cheats for example make money from their crimes, pollute our environment and damage the legitimate, law-abiding businesses. So the penalties need to reflect the seriousness of the crime", commented Barbara Young, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency. The Chief Executive’s comments came on the day of the launch of a new report on Tuesday, which shows that Courts handed out more than 11 years behind bars, millions in court fines and more than 240 days of community service to individuals, companies and company directors who committed environmental crime last year. Barbara Young said: Barbara Young, Chief Executive, Environment Agency "We’re pleased the courts are starting to get the message that environmental crime is a serious offence and handed out over £3.5 million in fines - a rise in nearly £1 million since 2005. "Although this is a good sign, penalties for environmental crime still aren’t harsh enough. Some fines can be as low as a thousandth of a per cent of a company's worth and despite the higher penalties, the average fine was still only £11,800. The law is there to protect our environment and so those businesses and individuals who think they can cut corners best watch out - we won’t tolerate it." Total fines against the waste sector overtook the water sector in 2006 with businesses in the waste sector totalling £778,077 in fines over £5,000 in value, compared to £623,075 for the water sector. The Environment Agency has Environmental Crime Teams (ECTs) across England and Wales, which specialise in intelligence gathering and enforcement to fight against environmental crime. Anti social behaviour orders and curfew orders are just some of the means it has to crack down on offenders. Last month, for example, the Agency’s ECTs together with the Assets Recovery Agency, obtained a court order to freeze and seek to recover assets from a waste criminal who was prosecuted for illegally dumping hazardous waste. Barbara Young continued: "Today’s report shows that there are many businesses and operators out there that are performing well with more than 50 per cent of the sites we regulate getting the top rating for environmental performance and management. We are not interested in hassling businesses and operators that run a good ship as it’s a waste of their time and ours. That’s why we focus our attention on helping the poorer performers and catching the rogues." Spotlight “Spotlight” is the Environment Agency’s annual report on the environmental performance of businesses in England and Wales. Other findings from the report included: Since 2000, the sites the Agency regulates have reduced releases of most air pollutants, including lead by 41 per cent and sulphur dioxide by 50 per cent. Levels of greenhouse gases had decreased by 16.8 per cent since 1990, but in 2006 rose slightly meaning the sectors the Agency regulates now accounted for over 34% of all of the UK’s greenhouse gases. The increase appears to be linked to the thriving economy, though also in part due to a greater number of industries reporting to the Agency. Over 40 per cent more waste was produced by sectors regulated by the Environment Agency compared to 2000, though a large amount of this increase is due to changes in regulation meaning more companies have to report the waste they produce to the Agency. Emissions trading must step up a gear, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme is not driving greenhouse gases down fast enough. Emissions from installations covered by the scheme in England and Wales rose from 203.6 million tonnes in 2005 to 211.5 million tonnes in 2006. Waste Sector The waste sector released about seven per cent of greenhouse gases emitted by all sectors the Agency directly regulated in 2006. About 80 per cent of this came from landfill gas which is essentially a mix of carbon dioxide and methane. The regulated waste sector had 769 serious breaches of its permit conditions in 2006 which was 27 per cent less than in 2005. These breaches were caused by just 185 businesses. The Agency is to focus more attention on these businesses and spend less time checking well-managed sites. There were 124 serious pollution incidents compared to 151 in 2005 and encouragingly this is the lowest number on record. This improvement is due to the Environment Agency’s action against illegal waste activities as well as better performance within the waste sector, according to the Agency. Methane produced a huge 22 petajoules of electricity supplied to the national grid which amounts to one and a half per cent of the UK’s total electricity demand. Burning waste for energy contributes just over one per cent of GHG releases from all the sectors regulated by the Agency. Paper and pulp A decrease of nine per cent in greenhouse gases emissions in this sector compared with 2005. Total waste produced (and transferred off-site) has also decreased by about nine per cent since 2005, continuing the gradual downward trend since 2000. Construction and demolition The construction and demolition industry produces 91 million tonnes of waste each year, the largest single source of waste in the UK. As many as 13 million tonnes of raw materials delivered to construction sites remain unused, before being sent away for disposal. Energy Total waste produced was at its lowest level since 2002. With 50 per cent recovered for further use. Farming Farms in England and Wales produce more than 300,000 tonnes of non-natural waste each year. Just under a third of this is plastic waste. About a quarter of farmers now recycle or recover non-natural waste, according to the Agency. Food and drink The Environment Agency says that the sites it regulates in this sector are the third highest producers of waste transferred off-site, of all the sites it regulates. The sector contributing 3.4 million tonnes of waste in 2006 of which 68 per cent was recovered. Metals The metals sector is a big user of recycled material from other sectors, in part because new raw materials are becoming harder to source. A significant 40 per cent approximately of UK steel and aluminium is produced from scrap metal. Important quantities amounting to over two million end-of-life vehicles are processed by the sector and around two billion cans are recycled each year. Further information A copy of Spotlight 2006 is available online at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/spotlight or by calling the Environment Agency on 08708 506 506.