Environment Agency enforcement officers could be given 'police-style'

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The Environment Agency (EA) could get “police-style” powers as part of a government crackdown on waste crime.

The newly-announced measure, which is part of its yet-to-be published Waste Crime Action Plan targeting issues such as fly-tipping and large illegal sites, could allow enforcement officers to arrest suspected criminals without a warrant.

Officials could also seize assets and search premises without a warrant, the government said, adding it was adopting a “zero-tolerance” policy to illegal sites cropping up across the country.

Expanding their powers would be under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE), the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) and other legislation.

The crime costing the economy billions

Sky News has been investigating how, across the country, waste crime is a growing scourge and a booming business being exploited by criminal gangs.

Being paid to remove rubbish only to dump it illegally without sorting it or paying tax is an easy way of making huge amounts of money, with poorly enforced legal repercussions and a huge cost to the environment.

It’s something the previous head of the Environment Agency called “the new narcotics”.

It’s thought a fifth of all waste in England is being illegally managed

That’s around 34 million tonnes a year, enough to fill about four million skips

It costs the economy around a billion pounds a year, with legitimate operators thought to be losing a further £3bn from missed business

Last July, we tracked down a group of suspected organised fly-tippers who waved wads of cash on TikTok after dumping waste in the countryside.

“This would allow officers to intervene earlier, bring more criminals to justice and hit the organised gangs behind illegal waste where it hurts by disrupting their finances,” said the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in a statement.

“The move would make the…

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