Organised crime gangs dumping millions of tonnes of waste in British countryside

"Sophisticated criminal networks are dumping millions of tonnes of waste in the British countryside every year, costing the UK an estimated £1 billion annually, according to a House of Lords inquiry. The Environment and Climate Change Committee found that large-scale fly-tipping operations are increasingly linked to organised crime groups involved in money laundering, drug trafficking and modern slavery. The inquiry estimated that around 38 million tonnes of waste are illegally dumped each year."

"Committee chair Baroness Sheehan said waste crime had become a "low-risk, high-reward" activity for organised criminals, who operate with "complete impunity" amid weak enforcement and limited resources at the Environment Agency. One of the worst cases cited in the inquiry involved 15ft-high piles of waste dumped in a Kent woodland, home to endangered nightingales. Despite public reports dating back to 2020, it took four years for regulators to take action. Residents told peers they feared reprisals for speaking out."

An estimated 38 million tonnes of waste are illegally dumped in the UK each year, enough to fill Wembley Stadium 35 times, with under-reporting likely making the true total higher. Organised crime groups increasingly run large-scale fly-tipping operations tied to money laundering, drug trafficking and modern slavery. Waste crime imposes roughly £1 billion in annual costs through public clean-up expenses and lost tax revenue from unpaid landfill levies and unlicensed disposal. Weak enforcement, limited Environment Agency resources, and delayed regulator responses enable criminals to operate with impunity. Residents and legitimate waste firms suffer intimidation, financial loss, and environmental harm, prompting calls for stronger national leadership and tougher enforcement.

Read at Business Matters