- Residents have raised concerns about illegal dumping across the community.
- New consultation launched on ‘clean-up squads’, will force fly-tippers to clear the mess they make and pay for it themselves.
The Government has today stepped up its war on waste crime, with the Prime Minister ordering a coordinated crackdown on the criminal gangs profiting from illegal dumping. A new Ministerial Tackling Waste Crime Alliance, chaired by Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle, will unite government, regulators, police, the National Crime Agency and mayors against waste criminals.
Stephen Morgan MP says residents have raised concerns about illegal dumping across the community and welcomes the Government’s decision to give councils stronger powers to make offenders clean up their own mess.
New powers will scrap the two-year time limit on confiscating cash, cars, houses and other assets bought with the proceeds of waste crime, and Fixed Penalty Notices issued by the Environment Agency for waste will rise from £300 to £5,000.
Under the plans, mayors and council leaders will be given a leading role in tackling waste crime through new regional multi-agency partnerships, with West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester the first areas to pilot the approach from autumn 2026.
A new consultation has also been launched on ‘clean-up squads’, which would give councils stronger powers to issue conditional cautions requiring fly-tippers to complete up to 20 hours of unpaid clean-up work, while recovering the cost of clearing the mess directly from offenders so taxpayers are not left to foot the bill.
Stephen Morgan MP for Portsmouth South said:
“Portsmouth residents have had to put up with illegal dumping across our community for too long.
“This package is a real step forward – it means fly-tippers here in Portsmouth will be made to clean up their own mess and pay for it, and I will be watching closely to make sure these new powers are used.”
Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said:
“This isn’t just about people dumping rubbish. Large-scale waste sites are fuelled by serious, organised crime, and we need to use the full force of the law to tackle it and root it out at source.
“Communities have been subjected to horrendous conditions and denied the pride they deserve in the places they call home. This ends now. We are cleaning up sites, but we are also stopping the cycle, driving faster prevention and disruption, better intelligence, and stronger coordination across the system.”
