Total waste crime costs the UK economy an estimated £1 billion a year.
Packaging Export Recycling Notes (PERNs) aim to enforce recycling obligations, but criminals often falsely claim to have exported packaging waste that either never existed, was not UK sourced or had already been the subject of a claim. Rogue operators exploit the PERN system by falsifying documents.
The Environment Agency has said that it’s found evidence of sophisticated and established money laundering networks set up to receive not only the proceeds of Packaging Export Recycling Note fraud but monies from benefit fraud, VAT fraud and acquisitive crime.
It added that waste export fraud results in waste being exported out of the UK – and often ending up dumped in locations overseas where it harms the environment.
Tackling waste export fraud
The Environment Agency has said it is taking “robust” action to tackle waste crime with a four-fold increase in its investigation team.
So far this year, 17 individuals were arrested for fraud and money laundering in partnership with the North West and Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Units.
Account Freezing Orders have also resulted in the forfeiture of £665,000 with further restrains of assets are currently under consideration.
The Environment Agency is urging the industry to report those they suspect of waste crime here or anonymously at Crimestoppers.
‘Waste crime has an extremely harmful impact’
Jon Ashcroft, producer responsibility regulatory services operations manager at the Environment Agency, said: “Waste crime has an extremely harmful impact on our environment and the Environment Agency is determined to crack down on it, working with law enforcement agencies to disrupt organised crime, arrest suspects and secure convictions.
“Our investigations target the criminals committing fraud as well as those involved in the facilitation of offending. If you are involved, the likelihood is that our law enforcement partners will be knocking on your door soon.”
Crossing international boundaries
Given the international nature of export fraud, the Environment Agency has added that it is focused on creating strong relationships between domestic and foreign authorities.
Investigators were recently deployed to Vilnius, Lithuania, to gather evidence as part of an ongoing investigation in collaboration with the Lithuanian Department of Environmental Protection.
In May 2024, a suspect was arrested as he entered the United Kingdom from Spain at Birmingham International airport.
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