The mountain of waste was uncovered when enforcement officers and police swooped on a suspected illegal waste site last Wednesday (19 August 2020).

Officers from the Environment Agency, Essex Police, Chelmsford City Council and Braintree District Council were acting on intelligence when they visited the site.

Mountain of waste

The rubbish they discovered included plastics, metals, glass, paper and textiles.

Householders and business have a legal duty to ensure they give their waste only to those legitimately registered to handle it. If they don’t, they could be held responsible for where it ends up.

Lesley Robertson, Environment Agency enforcement team leader, said:

Waste crime undermines legitimate business, can cause harm to the environment and misery for local people.

We are continuing to work with our enforcement partners to disrupt illegal waste activities and remain committed to the closure of illegal waste sites.

We urge anyone with information about waste crime, or who suspects illegal waste activities are taking place to contact our hotline 0800 80 70 60 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, either on 0800 555 111 or their website crimestoppers-uk.org.

PC Nigel Wright from Essex Police’s Rural Engagement Team, said:

We are happy to provide support during these operations. Fly-tipping is not only unpleasant to look at, it can also be a danger to local residents and wildlife. We would encourage anyone who has information on this to please report it as we can only help if we know about it.

Waste crime crackdown

The Environment Agency is cracking down on serious and organised waste crime and taking tough action to deal with criminal behaviour. It is working with the police and other enforcement agencies to put waste criminals out of business and take back the profits of their crimes.

Waste crime is estimated to cost the UK economy £600 million every year. It can pose a serious risk to the environment and people’s health, and make life a misery for local people.