Organized criminals are suspected of working with the construction industry in the United Kingdom to illegally dump thousands of metric tons of building rubble around the country in order to avoid landfill taxes and clean-up costs, according to the Guardian newspaper.
The gangs reportedly scout available land in advance, work with two-way radios, and may descend on a site with 30 or more trucks in a few hours, says the British Environment Agency, which is increasingly concerned over a huge rise in such incidents.
An unpublished study, carried out by agency staff with the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Studies, has found that building sites, roads, fields and electricity substations are among the popular sites for large-scale dumping of building materials. Cemeteries, hotel grounds, golf courses and sports fields are also being targeted. Much of the dumping is done quite openly, says the report: “Building sites are particularly attractive since they are accessible to [trucks], are flat, and do not arouse suspicion since, to the bystander there is nothing wrong with [trucks] entering a building site.”
An Environment Agency spokesperson tells the Guardian: “Large-scale tipping appears to be happening more frequently. We are told that people are moving out of drugs and into [construction] waste because it’s just as profitable and people do not tend to end up in prison.”
The agency says opportunistic illegal dumping (known as “fly-tipping” in the U.K.) by gangs and individuals has risen by 40 percent in the past two years and is now running at more than 65,000 incidents per month. The cost to local authorities and landowners is believed to be $180 million to $270 million per year.
The rise in the past three years has been largely driven by rising landfill taxes, local authorities charging for the collection of bulky waste, and more goods such as TV sets, computers and refrigerators being defined as “special” or “hazardous” waste.
The large-scale tippers are resorting to new tactics, says the agency. In some parts of the country, large warehouses are rented, filled with car tires and then abandoned. “Some offenders con landowners and [supervisors] into allowing delivery of what they believe to be free topsoil, only to later find hundreds of tons of useless waste having been deposited on their land,” says the Guardian report.
Much of the tipping is attributed to “white van man” – a nickname given to building subcontractors, plumbers and gardeners. “They are often ignorant of the alternatives,” says the report. “They either cannot afford to pay or refuse to pay. Some subscribe to a perception that they are unlikely to be caught and prosecuted, or if they are, will receive trivial penalties.”
A Country Landowners’ Association survey of members has found that building rubble was the most common material dumped, followed by household items such as refrigerators, freezers, beds, sofas and mattresses. There are thought to be fewer cars being dumped now than a few years ago because of the high price of ferrous scrap.
Sue Doughty, Liberal Democrat environment spokeswoman, says the recent closure of most of Britain’s hazardous waste plants—to comply with EU regulations—has left millions of tons of potentially dangerous material with nowhere to go, thus fueling fly-tipping. “It is scandalous that the government has had five years to prepare for the new rules under the 1999 landfill directive, but has failed to make sure that specialist facilities are ready in time,” Doughty told the Guardian.
The Environment Agency says it has limited detective resources and no powers to stop vehicles or check identities. In London, for example, there were only 11 investigators dealing with more than 400 incidents of large-scale dumping in 2002.