Recycling officers report insufficient funding for waste crime

The online survey, commissioned by FCC Environment, had a sample size of 102 adults working at local authorities across the United Kingdom. Fieldwork was undertaken between 28 March – 12 April 2023.

Other standout findings from the survey show that 95% think the Environment Agency has insufficient enforcement funding to effectively tackle waste crime and is not taking enough enforcement action.

More than three quarters (77%) of respondents also said their local authority will “fail to deliver” on the government’s pledge to eliminate waste crime by 2043.

Cathy Cook, chair of LARAC, added: “It is clear that our members are committed to tackling waste crime in their local authority areas, but we know more funding and resources are needed to fully address the issue. Waste crime hampers our environmental objectives and can be a blight on our landscapes. Our members believe this matter is a high priority and we would like to see it treated as such.”

Government is not equipping local authorities or the Environment Agency with the budget

• FCC Environment

Funding

The survey results arrive on the back of additional funding to tackle fly-tipping announced by the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, earlier this year.

The £775,000 additional grant funding has been made available to a number of councils to crack-down on fly-tipping.

However, FCC Environment explained that fly-tipping is just one of the forms waste crime takes, and the survey showed that over 82% of respondents “believe there is insufficient public awareness of the different forms waste crime takes which creates further difficulty in combating it”.

FCC added that data, cost and human resources were singled out as the three biggest obstacles to effectively building an understanding of the full extent of waste crime which in turn hinders any preventative measures that could be taken.

Commenting on the findings, FCC Environment’s operations director, Chris Ellis said: “Around one fifth of the UK’s waste is handled illegally, costing the UK economy £1 billion each year. The findings show government is not equipping local authorities or the Environment Agency with the budget to be able to effectively deal with the issue, and risks missing its 2043 date for eliminating the issue.”