Summary: Regulating for people, the environment and growth, 2018
Updated 22 February 2021
Applies to England
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Our regulating for people, the environment and growth report provides statistics, trends and messages on the environmental performance of the businesses we regulate.
This page summarises the main findings of the report.
Environment Agency Chief Executive, James Bevan said:
The biggest single threat to everything we all care about, and the biggest threat to everything the Environment Agency exists to do – protect people from flood and drought, enhance the environment, support sustainable growth – is the climate emergency.
One of our key tools as a nation to help tackle the climate crisis is regulation. And regulation isn’t red tape – the right kind of regulation that is simple, risk based, proportionate and aims for partnership – helps enhance our environment, protects communities and unlocks growth.
As the country continues to prepare to leave the EU, we have an opportunity to do regulation even better. So EU exit doesn’t mean taking down regulations, or relaxing regulation. The Environment Agency stands ready to clamp down on offenders as robustly as before.
Climate emergency
The changing climate affects us all and is the biggest challenge and threat we face.
We’re working hard with sites we regulate to tackle the climate emergency.
Our work includes flood management, climate resilience, protecting water resources and promoting energy efficiency.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Emissions from regulated sites have decreased by 47% since 2008.
Overseeing energy efficiency and emissions trading schemes
These schemes cover over 50% of the UK’s carbon emissions from industry, businesses and the public sector. In 2018, compliance rates were above 98% for each of the 6 schemes we administer.
Regulation protects the environment and supports prosperity
In 2018:
- the majority of permitted sites were well run
- our prosecutions resulted in courts fining businesses and individuals £2.8 million for environmental offences
- environmental projects and organisations received £2.1 million from enforcement undertakings
- our new digital services improved customer access to our data and services
Cleaner air
Since 2008, the businesses we regulate have reduced emissions of:
- sulphur oxides by 81%
- nitrogen oxides by 65%
- PM10 (small particulates) by 37%
Cleaner bathing waters
Bathing water quality remained high, with 98% passing the minimum quality standards, compared to 91% in 2008.
Bathing water quality: 1995 to 2018
| Year | Excellent | Good | Sufficient | Poor | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 12.4% | 17% | 16.2% | 54.3% | 100% |
| 1996 | 16.2% | 19.4% | 16.7% | 47.7% | 100% |
| 1997 | 20.6% | 19.1% | 16.7% | 43.6% | 100% |
| 1998 | 24.4% | 20.4% | 17.3% | 37.9% | 100% |
| 1999 | 24.3% | 21.8% | 17% | 37% | 100% |
| 2000 | 26.2% | 22% | 18% | 33.8% | 100% |
| 2001 | 29.8% | 28.1% | 15% | 27.1% | 100% |
| 2002 | 36.9% | 29.2% | 12.3% | 21.6% | 100% |
| 2003 | 45.3% | 27.5% | 11.9% | 15.3% | 100% |
| 2004 | 46% | 29.5% | 14% | 10.4% | 100% |
| 2005 | 51.2% | 26.1% | 14.3% | 8.5% | 100% |
| 2006 | 52.8% | 26.4% | 12.6% | 8.2% | 100% |
| 2007 | 54.1% | 25.8% | 11.4% | 8.7% | 100% |
| 2008 | 53.1% | 22.7% | 14.7% | 9.4% | 100% |
| 2009 | 52.2% | 23.2% | 12.8% | 11.8% | 100% |
| 2010 | 51.3% | 24.5% | 12.6% | 11.6% | 100% |
| 2011 | 53.4% | 24.2% | 12.1% | 10.4% | 100% |
| 2012 | 50% | 28.6% | 9.9% | 11.5% | 100% |
| 2013 | 55.2% | 28% | 7.2% | 9.6% | 100% |
| 2014 | 60.8% | 24.8% | 8.9% | 5.5% | 100% |
| 2015 | 63.6% | 26.5% | 7% | 2.9% | 100% |
| 2016 | 69.5% | 23.7% | 5.3% | 1.5% | 100% |
| 2017 | 65.6% | 26.4% | 6.3% | 1.7% | 100% |
| 2018 | 67.1% | 25.2% | 5.5% | 2.1% | 100% |
More waste recovered
In recent years, more waste has been reused and recycled, and less landfilled.
The amount of waste going to landfill decreased by 45% between the financial year 2000 to 2001 and the calendar year 2018, and by 18% since 2008.
Landfill, transfer and treatment of waste 2000 to 2018
Data is in millions of tonnes.
| Year | Landfill | Transfer | Treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 to 2001 | 79.9 | 39.4 | 10.6 |
| 2002 to 2003 | 75.7 | 40.9 | 15 |
| 2004 | 68.9 | 44.2 | 21 |
| 2005 | 67.9 | 44.5 | 24.6 |
| 2006 | 64.9 | 44.7 | 27 |
| 2007 | 60.7 | 46.9 | 27.1 |
| 2008 | 53.8 | 44.5 | 26.5 |
| 2009 | 44 | 40 | 26.3 |
| 2010 | 43.6 | 39.6 | 30.9 |
| 2011 | 44.7 | 39.8 | 39.7 |
| 2012 | 41.8 | 39.2 | 43.8 |
| 2013 | 41.1 | 42.2 | 49.3 |
| 2014 | 41.3 | 46.7 | 57.4 |
| 2015 | 43.9 | 44.9 | 64.1 |
| 2016 | 44.7 | 46.7 | 72.4 |
| 2017 | 45.4 | 46.1 | 78.1 |
| 2018 | 44.1 | 45.9 | 81.1 |
More waste was recovered by the industries that we regulate. The amount of waste recovered increased from 59% in 2008 to 72% in 2018.
But we still need to recover and reuse more waste.
Work is still needed
Too many serious pollution incidents
There are still too many serious pollution incidents.
In 2018 we dealt with 16,454 incidents. Of these, 533 were serious pollution incidents (category 1 and 2), 27% more than in 2017.
Serious pollution incidents increased in most sectors in 2018 compared with 2017. Incidents from non-permitted and permitted activities increased by 44% and 29% respectively.
There were 67 incidents in 2018 identified as resulting from natural causes, compared with 26 in 2017. This increase alone accounts for over one-third of the overall rise in incidents during 2018. Increased incidents from illegal waste activities account for another quarter of the increase.
We expect all businesses to actively manage their risks.
Further improve water quality
Water quality continues to be affected by:
- agriculture and rural land management
- the water industry
- urban and transport pressures
In 2016, 86% of river water bodies had not reached good ecological status, and only 53% of groundwater bodies achieved good chemical status.
We’re working with water companies, farmers and businesses to reduce pollution and plan further improvements.
Tackling waste crime
We’re still finding almost the same number of new illegal waste sites as the number we close.
In the financial year 2018 to 2019, we:
- stopped illegal waste activity at 912 sites, 12% more than the previous year
- found 896 new illegal waste sites, 5% more than the previous year
New powers are helping us to investigate and disrupt the activities of rogue operators.