Councils to get more powers to crush fly-tippers’ vans in planned crackdown

Councils are expected to “get much more aggressive” against fly-tippers with proposed enhanced powers to seize and crush their vehicles, Environment Secretary Steve Reed said.

Criminals caught transporting and dealing with waste illegally could also face five years behind bars under potential new legislation.

No extra money is to be made available for the planned crackdown on dumped rubbish, with cash-strapped local authorities to pay for it from existing budgets.

Fly-tippers could be forced to stump up for the high cost of their vehicles being taken and stored under the plans being considered by ministers.

Mr Reed told reporters at a car-crushing plant in Wokingham, Berkshire: “Councils will get much more aggressive against fly-tippers and that includes using the latest technology, things like the new mobile CCTV cameras and drones to identify, track and then seize the vehicles that are being used for fly-tipping to a yard like this and crush them.

“That’s both as a punishment for those people who are dumping the rubbish but also as a deterrent for those who are thinking about doing it.”

He added: “We’re also looking to change the law so that those rogue operators who take rubbish from someone’s home and then dump it on a nearby road – they were getting away almost scot-free under the previous Government – they will now be looking at potentially five-year prison sentences.”

Fly-tipping was “out of control” under the last Tory government, the Cabinet minister said.

Data from the Environment Department (Defra) shows local authorities in England dealt with a record 1.15 million incidents last year – a 20% increase from 2018/19.

The review launched on Tuesday by the Government, which is expected to wrap up by the end of the summer, will look into encouraging more local authorities to deploy powers to seize and destroy waste criminals’ vans. Just two councils accounted for more than 60% of seizures in 2023/24.

But they will receive no additional cash to tackle the problem.

Mr Reed said: “In the most recent Budget, councils got a nearly 7% increase in their funding. That was the biggest increase for years.

“Now we expect councils to use some of that additional funding to tackle the scourge of dumped rubbish on our streets.”

Meanwhile, the Environment Agency will be given more resources to police the industry through permits and carry out identity and criminal record checks.

Environment Agency chief executive Philip Duffy said: “We’re determined to bring these criminals to justice through tough enforcement action and prosecutions.

“That’s why we support the Government’s crackdown on waste criminals, which will ensure we have the right powers to shut rogue operators out of the waste industry.”

The Tories said that waste was “piling high” in Labour-run areas like Birmingham, where a bin strike over pay and jobs for refuse workers has left residents dealing with mounds of rubbish left on the streets.

Shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins said: “Wherever Labour is in charge, waste is piling high – like in Birmingham, where Labour’s inability to stand up to their union paymasters has left rat infested rubbish littered across the street.

“And with statistics showing that of the 50 worst local areas for fly-tipping, 72% are Labour controlled, it is clear that voting Labour gets you rubbish and rats.

“So the British public deserve real action, not this series of reheated announcements and policies already introduced by previous governments that Labour is peddling.”

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “Under the Conservatives’ watch, local communities have been plagued by a fly-tipping epidemic.

“From overflowing bins to piles of hazardous waste, fly-tipping is blighting our landscapes, poisoning livestock on farming land and causing misery for residents.

“Enough is enough.

“The Liberal Democrats are calling for a fly-tipping fighting fund, to push for stronger local enforcement and tougher penalties for offenders.”