Better co-ordination to stop illegal waste carriers

Published: 12 September 2017
By Chris Haycock

The Environment Agency and Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) have agreed on steps to stop illegal waste carriers and improve road safety in England.

Sir James Bevan, Environment Agency Chief Executive, and Gareth Llewellyn, DVSA Chief Executive, signed an agreement today (12 September 2017) in London.

Companies must register as a waste carrier if they:

• transport waste
• buy, sell or dispose of waste

However, some carriers operate illegally without the necessary licence, and don’t dispose of waste legally.

Companies who use a waste carrier must check they’re registered to dispose of waste, and not allow the waste carrier to dispose of their waste illegally.

Every year waste crime costs taxpayers and businesses £1 billion. The Environment Agency spent almost £15 million stopping illegal waste activity between April 2015 and March 2016.

The Environment Agency and DVSA will share intelligence and carry out joint operations in England to:

• stop waste being illegally transported
• target unsafe drivers and vehicles

The agreement will see:

• DVSA staff working within Environment Agency teams, making sure enforcement action is coordinated and effective
• information and intelligence shared between the 2 agencies, increasing the effectiveness of roadside enforcement activity on waste industry vehicles
• enforcement teams provided with up-to date and relevant intelligence about waste industry operators

This will all help to:

• identify high-risk or illegal goods vehicle operators who are involved in the transport of waste
• reduce the number of seriously and serially non-compliant waste industry vehicles on England’s roads

You can report any information you have about unsafe vehicle operators to DVSA.

For a number of years, the Environment Agency and DVSA have worked together to stop waste crime, making sure companies are operating legally and vehicle safety is improved.

Gareth Llewellyn said:

DVSA priority is to protect you from unsafe drivers and vehicles.

I am delighted that we will be working with the Environment Agency to tackle those who illegally transport waste. By combining our enforcement powers and intelligence we’ll be able to target those who break the rules more effectively.

Sir James Bevan said:

We want to protect people and communities from the impact that vehicle and waste crime can have and create a level playing field for all operators.

This memorandum of understanding with DVSA will help both organisations target the waste industry to improve compliance and vehicle and driver safety standards.