Waste crime in England
Report waste crime, dispose of waste correctly, and find out about government plans to reduce illegal waste activity across England.
Waste crime includes illegal dumping, false descriptions of waste and Landfill Tax fraud.
It costs the economy around £1 billion per year and causes lasting damage to communities and the environment.
An estimated 20% of all waste in England is illegally managed. Yet only 27% of waste crimes are estimated to be reported.
Disposing of waste correctly
Check how to dispose of waste through the right channels to keep it out of the hands of waste criminals.
Reporting waste crime
Report fly-tipping, large-scale illegal dumping or other waste crimes. Reports help the Environment Agency and its partners direct resources and stop offenders.
Reporting serious wrongdoing by your employer (whistleblowing)
You can report serious environmental wrongdoing by your employer in confidence.
Government and agency plans
The Waste Crime Action Plan outlines the next steps in government’s response to tackle serious waste crime in England.
The Environment Agency’s 10-point action plan for waste crime sets out what it and its regulatory partners are doing.
You can also see the latest news and communications about waste crime through:
Joint Unit for Waste Crime
This multi-agency taskforce works in partnership to tackle serious and organised crime in the UK waste industry.
National waste crime survey
The Environment Agency runs the national waste crime survey to understand the scale and nature of waste crime and how well it is being dealt with.
Serious and organised waste crime: 2018 review
This review sets out how waste crime had grown into a large-scale criminal enterprise linked to other serious crimes including firearms and drugs.