Press Release
For immediate release

CIWM Responds to Findings from House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee Inquiry

CIWM notes and largely concurs with the findings from the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee inquiry, which conclude that serious and organised waste crime is currently under-prioritised relative to its significant impact, and that a root and branch review is still required to tackle waste crime much more effectively.
 
Waste crime continues to cause misery and anxiety to communities, landowners and businesses across the UK, and tackling this insidious issue is significantly under-resourced.
 
The negative impact this crime imposes on the professional and legitimate resources and waste sector and on local economies, alongside the wider environmental damage it causes, confirms that tackling waste crime must be treated by Government as a definitive sector and societal priority.
 
CIWM fully supports the Committee’s call for more effective, integrated enforcement. We recognise that this is a complex issue. There are, however, some promising examples of local authorities, police, regulators, and landowners working together to tackle waste crime and we must learn from these and expand effective approaches.
 
We are committed to actively assisting the UK Government, the Joint Unit for Waste Crime and other relevant parties in addressing and implementing these recommendations to drive improved compliance and to stem, disrupt and prevent all forms of waste crime.

ENDS

Press contact:

Gemma Smith
T: +44 (0) 1604 823317
E: gemma.smith@ciwm.co.uk