Overview
- Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the enforcement package on Thursday, August 20, directing agencies to target organised networks behind large illegal dumps and to use drones, more EA officers, police and the NCA to detect and disrupt them.
- The government will raise Environment Agency fixed penalties from £300 to £5,000 and strengthen seizure powers to take cash, vehicles and property purchased with proceeds of waste crime.
- Three large sites — Power Station Road (Isle of Sheppey), Aymer Close (Runnymede) and Midland Road (Bradford) — totalling about 22,000 tonnes and affecting roughly 2,900 families have been earmarked for government-funded clearance subject to feasibility checks.
- DEFRA has opened an eight-week consultation running to 16 October on 'clean‑up squads' and stronger local powers that would require some offenders to do up to 20 hours unpaid work or reimburse councils for clearance costs.
- The move builds on the existing Waste Crime Action Plan and recent large clearances such as Kidlington, while giving mayors and councils a new region-led role in West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester to coordinate local enforcement and prevent reoccurrence.