Government publishes Waste Crime Action Plan for England

The Government has published its Waste Crime Action Plan for England, centred around three core objectives of the prevention, enforcement, and remediation of waste crimes. The Action Plan brings together a package of policy commitments, regulatory reforms and enforcement initiatives, many of which will be implemented throughout 2026 and beyond. Many of the reforms set out in the Plan are not new. However, by bringing these proposals together, the Government is clearly signalling its intentions to tackle reduce waste crime through increased regulation and enforcement. 

Prevention: tighter regulation and greater transparency

The Plan’s aim of prevention looks to develop the necessary regulatory environment that will limit illegal waste activity through three legislative reforms. 

Waste carriers, brokers and dealers will be transitioned from the existing registration regime into the environmental permitting regime, giving the Environment Agency enhanced oversight and enforcement powers. This change is intended to ensure that waste is managed only by authorised persons, and make it easier for service users to identify legitimate waste service providers. The Environment Agency should have greater powers to ensure compliance, and penalties for non-compliance will increase. 

Defra, alongside the other jurisdictions in the UK, is introducing digital waste tracking, designed to replace paper-based systems and provide regulators with near real‑time visibility of waste movements across the UK. The system will be available from April 2026 for all licensed or permitted waste receiving sites and will become mandatory from October 2026, with further expansion to other operators to follow. 

In addition, Defra will remove or tighten a number of waste permit exemptions that have historically been vulnerable to abuse. Waste exemption holders will be subject to increased record‑keeping requirements and operational limits on how exemptions can be managed at site will be introduced. The Environment Agency will be given powers to amend exemptions without further legislation.

Enforcement: expanded powers and increased scrutiny

The Government has committed £45 million of additional funding for the Environment Agency over the next three financial years for waste crime enforcement. The Agency will be supported by a new Operational Waste Intelligence and Analysis Unit, which will make use of satellite imagery, drone surveillance, financial data and criminal intelligence. The Agency is continuing to develop its use of technology (such as drones and artificial intelligence) to identify waste crime. 

The ‘drone squad’ has received a lot of press attention. Partner Simon Tilling was quoted in the ENDS Report explaining that “surveillance is just part of the enforcement jigsaw”: there must be “boots on the ground to gather the evidence of criminal activity: aerial surveys alone won’t be enough evidence to convict, but it will be valuable corroborating evidence”.

The Environment Agency will therefore need back-up, and the Joint Unit for Waste Crime brings together various Government enforcement agencies to tackle serious and organised waste crime. 

Defra has also confirmed that it will explore strengthening the Environment Agency’s powers under existing criminal legislation, including the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. 

The Government is also planning to expand the penalties for waste crimes. The Environment Agency will now publicly “name and shame” illegal waste operators. Measures to tackle fly‑tipping form part of the wider enforcement agenda, including proposed penalty points on driving licences for relevant offences and a forthcoming consultation on conditional cautions, which could allow local authorities to impose unpaid work and clean‑up requirements as an alternative to prosecution.

Remediation: addressing the most serious sites

To accelerate the remediation of the most serious illegal waste sites, the Government is working to identify the sites where the Environment Agency should step in to clear sites (in parallel with pursuing prosecutions). 

The Plan indicates that the Government is looking to provide support, through engagement with the insurance sector, to support landowners in obtaining protection from illegal waste dumping. 

New approach

Overall, the Waste Crime Action Plan demonstrates a clear willingness by Government to increase regulatory scrutiny, expand enforcement powers and adopt a more aggressive, intelligence‑led approach to tackling waste crime. This is good news for legitimate waste businesses who are undercut by rogue operators, and for landowners who fall victim to troublesome tenants who can leave them to clear up a costly mess. However, it is also a reminder for all businesses in all parts of the waste value chain to ensure they remain in compliance, as an enhanced regulatory regime will lead to greater enforcement, and the Environment Agency will be eager to demonstrate results. 

This article was written by Lucinda Huntsman with assistance from Sophie Osborn.

There must be "boots on the ground to gather the evidence of criminal activity: aerial surveys alone won’t be enough evidence to convict" Simon Tilling quoted in the ENDS Report

https://www.endsreport.com/article/1952182/why-ea-plans-drone-squad-tackle-waste-crime-raised-eyebrows