Landowners and farmers are being urged to help the Environment Agency stop waste crime as new research shows only 12% reported the most recent incidents which affected them.
The findings were revealed today (Wednesday 23 July) in the results of the Environment Agency’s National Waste Crime Survey 2025, which also show more than half (57%) of landowners and farmers are estimated to have been affected by waste crime.
Networks of organised criminal groups operating across the country are targeting privately owned property and land, particularly in rural locations, to dump rubbish collected through illegal means. The waste industry, landowners and farmers who took part in the survey estimate 35% of waste crime is committed by organised crime groups, attracted by financial gains.
Last year, three men were convicted following a major investigation led by the Environment Agency into large-scale illegal deposits of more than 26,000 tonnes of waste – the equivalent weight of around 2,170 double-decker buses – at 17 sites across the country. Organised criminal gang members approached waste facilities and offered to dispose of baled waste at reduced costs, which they later abandoned.
The Environment Agency is determined to stop waste crime, protect the environment, and pursue criminals. It’s essential to know when and where these offences are happening – and the survey shows only just more than a quarter (27%) of all waste crimes are reported.
To ensure it has the best possible information to identify and stop the culprits, the Environment Agency is appealing to landowners and farmers to report every incident to its 24-hour incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60. Reports of any known or suspected illegal waste activity can also be made anonymously to Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111.
Steve Molyneux, Environment Agency Deputy Director for Waste & Resources Regulation, said
Waste criminals’ toxic crimes cause widespread and significant harm to people, places and the economy. The Environment Agency is determined to use all our powers and resources to stop waste criminals, but we cannot achieve this alone.
Our survey shows almost three quarters of waste offences go unreported, so we urge industry and the public to help us stop waste criminals faster by sharing what they know about the people carrying out these heinous crimes.
Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh said
Through our Plan for Change, this government will crack down on the waste cowboys, seize and crush fly-tippers’ vans, and clean up Britain.
With the shocking scale of this challenge revealed today, we are tightening the net on the organised crime groups who exploit our broken waste system.
We will not stand and watch while our countryside is polluted by criminals who undercut decent businesses.
Sam Corp, Head of Regulation at the Environmental Services Association, said
With more than half of British landowners now reporting that they have fallen victim to the illegal dumping of waste, the survey findings are further evidence of the waste crime epidemic facing the UK, much of which is perpetrated by organised crime groups.
It is essential that we all exercise our duty of care to ensure waste does not fall into criminal hands and that, across society, we report all waste crime when we see it to help the authorities identify and stop the culprits.
Dan Cooke, Director of Policy, Communications & External Affairs at CIWM, said
Waste crime causes misery and anxiety to communities wherever it occurs. It also damages local economies and undermines the professional recycling, resources and waste sector.
These latest National Waste Crime Survey figures show the extent of the challenge we face and the need for renewed focus and action. We can all do something to tackle waste crime and to bring those responsible to account.
CIWM encourages everyone to report suspicious activity or any incidents involving the illegal tipping of waste materials – wherever and whenever you see it. By reporting it to your local authorities or to the Environment Agency, you’re increasing the chance of prosecution and of swift action to maintain the quality of local environments on which our economy depends.
Conducted in February, the survey is used to help better understand the nature and scale of waste crime, as perceived by those experiencing it, including landowners, farmers and the waste industry.
The survey’s results show waste criminals are active across the country, with respondents estimating 20% of all waste produced may be illegally managed at some point in the supply chain – enough to fill Wembley Stadium 35 times.
Waste industry respondents who had suffered waste crime reported incurring significant costs, with 52% experiencing losses exceeding £50,000 due to illegal waste sites, 44% from illegal waste exports, and 32% from large-scale fly-tipping.
Under their Plan for Change, the government has confirmed rogue operators caught transporting and dealing with waste illegally will face up to five years in prison under new legislation. This will act as a strong deterrent and ensure the full force of the law comes down hard on those trashing the nation’s communities.
The Environment Agency fully supports legitimate operators and is working hard in collaboration with other partners to stop illegal waste management. In one recent successful prosecution, a former teacher who filled two quarries in Hertfordshire with enough illegal waste to fill the Royal Albert Hall nearly three times over was ordered to pay almost £79,000 following an Environment Agency investigation.
And, in another prosecution brought by the Environment Agency, a County Durham man was jailed for 44 weeks in February for operating an illegal waste site without an environmental permit.
