The Environment Agency (EA) is appealing for information from witnesses that may have seen ‘approximately 3,000 cubic metres’ of waste illegally dumped in a warehouse in Bedfordshire late last year.
The flytipping, believed to have taken place between 16 November and 20 November 2013, occurred in a warehouse on the former Ecomold site on Luton Road, Dunstable, and was discovered by the Environment Agency’s specialist waste crime officers after they were called to the warehouse.
The criminals allegedly gained access by cutting a ‘lorry sized hole’ in the side of the warehouse and dumping the waste with the aid of ‘several large vehicles’.
EA is encouraging anyone with information or who may have seen something suspicious like ‘tipper lorries or plant machinery’ on the site in mid November to contact the Environment Agency on 0800 807060 quoting CMS 16469 or if they wish to speak in confidence, to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Environmental Crime Team Leader, Tracy Nash, said: “This is not a matter of small scale flytipping, this case appears to be intentional large scale avoidance of disposal costs. This callous act has endangered the environment and had a costly impact for the landowner.
“It is vital that we identify where the waste came from and who transferred it to the warehouse. If an innocent party has handed it to a contractor for disposal in good faith then they won’t be in any trouble and may have critical information for us.”
The removal of the waste, said to be happening ‘shortly’, will be of ‘considerable expense’ to the landowner.
Following new guidance from the Sentencing Council, anyone found running illegal waste sites can be fined ‘up to £50,000’ in Magistrates courts’, face ‘unlimited fines’ in higher courts, as well as community punishment orders or prison sentences of ‘up to five years’.
According to EA, the unlicensed illegal dumping of waste is a ‘growing problem’ in the UK and costs taxpayers ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds a year in clean up costs’, whilst undermining legitimate waste management companies.
EA works in partnership with local authorities and the police to investigate these offences.
Find out more about EA and waste crime.
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