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Waste: Crime

Asked by Wendy MortonConservativeDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled Answered 22 July 2025UIN 67894

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of prosecutions for waste crime offences in England and Wales.

Answered by Mary Creagh

Of the additional £5.6 million allocated to the Environment Agency (EA) this year to tackle waste crime, £2 million has allowed the EA to recruit an additional 43 operational staff and achieve focus on enforcement. Prosecution is not always the most effective way of stopping waste crime and the EA will continue to use a variety of approaches to disrupt and prevent waste crime, whilst prosecuting the worst offences and offenders, in line with its strategy for reducing crime in the waste sector.

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