'Too slow, too weak': System for tackling waste crime 'not working', EA chief says

The head of the Environment Agency (EA) has told a House of Lords committee hearing that the system for tackling waste crime is not working.  Philip Duffy, the chief executive of the EA, told the Lords' environment committee that the justice system does not deter waste crime.

"[In terms of] the severity of the penalties, the likelihood of being apprehended, and the speed it takes to go through the criminal justice system - it's too slow, it's too weak, and it's too uncertain," he said. Mr Duffy said increases in landfill tax rates, and the cost of recycling, are causes for concern in tackling waste crime.

There is also evidence of major organised crime gangs "penetrating the UK waste sector.